Our Stars Are Bound To Meet
by saarele
Summary: AU St. Berry. New Direction's Jesse St. James is smitten by the lead of Vocal Adrenaline. Who was she and why hadn't he ever heard of her before? A pinch of St.Fabray.
1. It's just professional admiration

AU. Rachel Berry is lead of Vocal Adrenaline. Jesse St. James is lead of New Directions and Mr. Schue's son. (Brittany gave me this inspiration when she asked if Jesse was his son, she's hilarious and awesome. And they have different last names, because, well… I suppose Jesse took his mother's name or something) It's kind of as if Rachel and Jesse have switched places...oh, well, you'll see. And beware, some of the characters might be much, much different they you know them. Mostly Jesse's POV. The first 2 chapters are well known scenarios, after that it goes a complete different direction than on the show. Oh, and, yeah, I don't own squat!

* * *

Jesse St. James, lead of the McKinley High show choir New Directions, was entering the doors of the Eastern Ohio Show Choir Sectionals with his father, Will Schuester. Since Will was coach of New Directions, which had just won the Western Ohio Sectionals, they had decided to come and check out the competition. They knew that their biggest rival was Carmel High School's choir Vocal Adrenaline, the three-time national show choir champions. New Directions was in no way as good as them but they tried. First of all, they were a much smaller school – meaning smaller budget, fewer students, less sponsors. _But that doesn't mean we're any less talented or determined as them, _Mr. Schue always told the glee clubbers. Though Jesse knew that he really was the only one who was a Vocal Adrenaline-level member of the club. The rest were either good singers or good dancers but not both. And of course, none of them were as purpose driven and ambitious as one Jesse St. James. He knew he was destined to be a star and was willing to do anything to achieve his goal. Yes, he knew that being in New Directions wouldn't buy him a great rep but he focused more on his individual performing. He'd been taking vocal lessons for as long as he could remember, as well as being in a band he had put together with his friends, which was oh so cleverly called "Saint James". One of Jesse's biggest role models was Freddy Mercury, so he had built up his band upon the premises of Queen. Stating the obvious, he was the songwriter, lead singer, pianist and manager of the band, which made him feel proud that he had the time for all of that. He had big plans for himself, and right now he was just in New Directions because of his dad and it was at least a start for the road to stardom.

Will and Jesse made their way to the auditorium but not without greeting some important people who didn't even really know who they were. They took their seats - 8th row, right on the corner where the two cross-aisles met.

„Perfect", Jesse said, sitting down and getting comfortable „we'll have space to stretch our legs". He hadn't even opened the program to see what was up. He liked to try and recognize the songs once they started to play.

The show was starting. Jesse found the first two performances quite boring; the first was a reformatory school choir. First, their costumes were horrendous, the color being not really orange, not really brown. What they were doing on stage couldn't be really called choreography, more like just trying to move with the rhythm, which they mostly failed. They sang 3 songs with titles that all included the words „Jesus" and „balloons". They all looked like they were waiting for somebody from the audience to stand up and shoot them.

„_Too bad I don't have a gun." _Jesse thought. That's how awful he thought they were.

The second choir at least resembled something close to an actual show choir, their costumes were deep green and steps were somewhat in sync with each other, though their songs were awful, too. They were far outdated and not even considered classics.

„This song should be arrested for the crime of sucking," Jesse whispered to his dad.

Mr. Schue just gave him a look that any father would give his son after he says such a thing. But he also kind of agreed deep down.

You see, Jesse was a perfectionist, he was passionate, a bit obsessive, completely arrogant, yet hard working and most importantly, he was very talented and good at what he did. He had his hopes set on being a Broadway star, so he also had a bit of a diva complexion. The only reason he had come here was because of Vocal Adrenaline, he had to see what their deal was this year. He knew the rest would be complete torture with his absolute hearing.

Jesse and Will both were feeling better about their chances at Regionals right about now. But then it was Vocal Adrenaline's turn. The auditorium became darker, the lights dimming. The stage was empty. There was total silence. Suddenly, the saw the lights shined to the back of the auditorium and everyone heard a spectacular female voice belt out, accompanied by the orchestra:

_Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter._

_Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter _

Everybody turned around to see the owner of this fantastic, energetic voice. Jesse looked and saw a beautiful, petite young girl in a black dress with a red waist band and long, brown hair marching down the aisle next to him singing with such emotion and passion. He of course recognized the song immediately, for there wasn't a musical that Jesse hadn't seen (at least that's what he says, who knows if it's actually true).

_Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade!_

Will opened his eyes wide and raised his eyebrows in amazement, turning to look at Jesse but he was too busy staring at the girl singing.

"Wow, she's amazing…" Jesse muttered as he kept staring at the girl, that was coming closer and closer, singing her heart out. Sure, he had been to a couple of Broadway shows and seen people with equal talent but that was Broadway, he didn't expect anything less. Though he hadn't expected a high school girl from Ohio would have such amazing talent. She was almost as good as him, which was the most surprising part. He hadn't even noticed that his mouth was slightly open in awe until she was right on his corner, looking him straight in the eyes and singing

_Your turn at bat, sir,_

_At least I didn't fake it hat, sir. _

And on the first "sir" she smiled, winked at Jesse and leaned in, put her hands lightly on each of his armrests. She was doing this because she was turning at the corner, it was obviously staged, and Jesse was just the one lucky person who happened to be sitting there but he was so mesmerized by this "Young Barbara" as he has already nicknamed her in his head, that he didn't realize it. A bit embarrassed he snapped out of his daze and closed his mouth, trying to put on an indifferent face but before he knew it she was already long gone at the end of his row and strutting her way back and on to the stage.

_I'm the rose of sheer perfection_

Young Barbara sang as lively as you could imagine. The energy she radiated was enough to set the whole room on fire, the passion burning in her eyes, the emotion in her face… everything agreed with Jesse as he muttered to himself again.

"Oh yes, she sure is…" He couldn't help but wonder who this girl was and why hadn't he ever heard of her before? She didn't look so young, about 17 or so, obviously not a freshman. But this was actually the first time he had seen Vocal Adrenaline perform this year, so that was probably the reason. Perhaps she was new to the group or something.

Will glanced at Jesse and smiled, though he wasn't sure if he liked that Jesse was crushing on the lead of their rival team.

"_I bet it's just professional admiration. I'm sure that's how Jesse himself would put it."_ Mr. Schue thought. He also was blown away by this young diva, and without knowing he was slowly sinking in his seat, the thought of them getting crushed at Regionals already being embedded in his mind.

_Hey, Mister Arstein, here I a-a-a-a-a-am! _

"_Mister Arnstein, pff"_ Jesse thought and shrugged. He always believed Omar Sharif wasn't vocally capable enough to play Mr. Arnstein, so he'd never liked this line at all. But the singing goddess continued to impress with such fierceness in her eyes, and practically shaking the whole auditorium with her strong voice, as Jesse got Goosebumps all over, which didn't go away for until the song was over.

The two numbers that followed were absolutely surreal, as the rest of the group joined their lead vocalist on stage, all dressed in red and black, looking a bit devilish. The choreography, the vocals, the production was truly amazing. The style was completely different, one song they did was Amy Winehouse's "Rehab", which Jesse found quite surprising, since he couldn't imagine how a group could change genres so quickly but they pulled it off perfectly. There was no doubt they would win tonight, which they in fact did. It was obvious to everyone why they were national champions, they were great. Even better than great. A pinch of jealousy made its way into Jesse's mixed feeling about this situation. He admired them just as much as resented them for being so good, he knew New Directions had no chance but he had other things on his mind at the moment.

This is where Mr. Schue and Jesse started worrying, though Mr. Schue a bit more, since Jesse was still noticeably drooling over the lead singer. It was rare to see Jesse this way, he'd always thought that girls were a waste of time, none of them were good enough for him, so he just focused on his performing. Not that anyone would really want to date Jesse, almost everybody at school thought of him as an annoying and obnoxious glee club geek. Yet he had set his sights on the most popular girl in McKinley and the lead female vocalist of New Directions, Quinn Fabray, mostly because he thought they would make a power couple. She was beautiful, smart, and was generally nice to Jesse, which was rare. Even though she thought he was a little out of his mind, she tried to accept him. But Quinn's vocals just weren't that strong, they didn't blend well with Jesse's (he always overpowered her), even though she was a great performer. She never missed a step or delivered an unrealistically looking smile on stage. But this girl, this Young Barbara was something else entirely. He needed to find out who she was. Heck, he hadn't realized it yet but he wanted to sing with her, he started to get that itchy feeling you get when you want something you don't want to want, if that makes any sense. Yes, her performance was flawed but no one could truly live up to Real Barbara. She was still fantastic, and who knows how great she'll be when she's older.

The competition had ended, the trophies presented and the cheering of Vocal Adrenaline faded out. The audience got up and left in a hurry, as if there was something extremely important happening outside.

"Hey dad, there's Shelby Corcoran, their vocal coach, go introduce yourself and find out who that girl was," Jesse pleaded, as he pointed to the tall, beautiful brunette standing by the stage, being congratulated by the other coaches. "Please! It's just professional admiration," he added before his dad even had a chance to object, because Jesse knew he would.

Will sighed and agreed. As he was making his way up to her, Jesse sat back down and pretended to read the program. Only then it occurred to him that Young Barbara's name was probably in there. He flinched as the thought came to him and quickly browsed through the booklet in his hands. And sure enough, there it was.

"_Carmel High School's Vocal Adrenaline: _

'_Don't rain on my parade' – performed by Rachel Berry"_

"_Rachel Berry, Rachel Berry, what a beautiful, beautiful name…" _he thought to himself.

There was a gold star after her name, he wasn't sure what it meant but he decided it was a metaphor for her being a star. And metaphors were important.

"Well that went well," Will said as he returned from his meeting with Shelby, "She told me she found it hard to consider us competition and made some strange comment about my hair and lesbians. Oh, and that was her daughter, Rachel Berry."

"Her…_daughter_?" a surprised Jesse asked.

"Yeah. What a coincidence, huh?" Will said, as he urged Jesse to get up and leave, since almost everyone else had gone.

"A coincidence indeed…" a stunned Jesse replied, as he walked out of the auditorium, oblivious to everything around him, thinking about this new development.


	2. 2 days, 2 girls, 2 dates

Thanks for the reviews! Once I read them, I totally changed this chapter. They inspire me, so feedback is much obliged :)

* * *

That night after Sectionals Jesse couldn't sleep. He didn't care that Vocal Adrenaline would crush them at Regionals (ok, yes, he was actually quite disappointed that they didn't stand a chance against them at Regionals but there was little he could do about that right now. In fact this didn't bother Jesse that much, Glee club wasn't exactly his whole life, though he did take it quite seriously.), he just couldn't stop thinking of Rachel Berry. She was almost as good as him, maybe even better, that was what had him worried. He couldn't help but imagine how they meet, how they burst together in song, how they perform together on stage… Whoa, what? Jesse St. James was fantasizing about sharing the stage with someone else? Better yet - a girl from his rival team? This strange effect Rachel Berry had on Jesse was quite odd indeed, and they hadn't even met yet. Jesse knew it was inevitable, for stars like them were bound to meet someday, anyway. However, he preferred it'd be sooner than later. Jesse suddenly felt thirsty, so he hopped out of bed and made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Oh, dad… You're still up?" Jesse said, as he entered the kitchen and saw Will sitting at the table.

"Yeah, I gotta finish grading these papers before tomorrow." Mr. Schue answered. "What about you? It's past midnight."

"I'm finding it incredibly difficult to fall asleep, my mind just won't let me doze off. And I got thirsty."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Rachel Berry, does it?" Will asked, as he put his pen down and looked at Jesse. He had seen the way Jesse's mood changed after Sectionals, and it wasn't just because Vocal Adrenaline was so good. It worried him a little that he took such an interest in Ms. Berry.

"Why would my mouth be dry because of her?" Jesse hesitated and got a glass and poured some water in it, trying to avoid the subject. _Ok, that really came out wrong._

Mr. Schue sighed, he would have none of that. "You know what I mean. Are you nervous about Regionals?"

"Nervous? No. Besides, shouldn't you be the one doing the worrying? I mean, they're totally gonna kill us."

"Ok, yes, I'll admit I do feel intimidated by them. But that doesn't mean we're going to give up. We might not be as technically good as them, but we still have a lot of determination and well… We're different. We can connect with the audience. Vocal Adrenaline are too busy trying to be precise to make that connection," he told his son, "But are you sure that's all that's bothering you?" he continued, trying to get back on the Rachel subject.

"Absolutely. But I feel much better now that you have reassured me of our prospects. Goodnight!" Jesse quickly replied and headed back to his room. Why did he feel so uneasy about that subject? Oh well.

Will Schuester just shook his head and went back to grading his papers. He had a feeling something bad was brewing.

It was a Monday afternoon and Jesse was heading to glee practice after a long and hard day of school. But glee always pumped him up, so he never complained about the afterschool practices. He usually was the first person there, but this time Quinn Fabray had gotten there before him and was already sitting in the back row.

"Jesse. Hi, I was hoping you'd come before the rest. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." She stood up and said, pushing aside her long, blond hair.

"Uhh, hey. Sure, what's up?" Jesse said, as he put his bag down on the chair in the first row.

"I'll just get straight to the point. I know things have been a little awkward between us since, well, you know..."

"Since you told me you couldn't go out with me because you needed space." Jesse was blunt.

The story of Jesse and Quinn was quite simple. It may be safe to say Jesse saw Quinn more like a conquest – he was determined to make a power couple out of them but Quinn was in a relationship with Finn Hudson. They had been childhood sweethearts but they finally realized that it just wasn't working out. She needed some time for herself before she could jump right into another relationship.

"Uh huh. Well…I think I've had enough space." Quinn said, as if she was forcing herself to say it. No, this totally wasn't awkward.

"Quinn Fabray, are you asking me out?" Jesse surprisingly asked.

"I-I guess so. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? It's about time I move on from Finn." This couldn't be truer. Finn was already on girl #3 since they broke up, and was on his way to becoming the biggest player in McKinley.

"Great. What do you say about Saturday night?" Jesse smirked.

"Hmm... I might have to check my schedule but I think we could work something out." Quinn flirtingly joked.

Just then the rest of the crew started coming in, interrupting their conversation with their own mindless chatter. Jesse and Quinn smiled at each other before turning to talk to the others.

Jesse sat down with a satisfied smile. Rachel Berry who? He had a date with a mortal.

Tuesday afternoon Jesse was driving in his blue Honda past the local book store. Something miraculous happened as he looked over at the parking lot – Rachel Berry was getting out of her car and heading inside.

"_This has to be fate_" Jesse thought, as he pulled in the parking lot, determined to meet this girl. What on Earth would Rachel Berry be doing in his territory? He didn't even think twice, he was going to do this, he simply had to. He pulled in and parked his car as close to the front door as he could.

Once he had reached the front door, Jesse headed straight to the music section, for he knew that that is where she would be, he just felt it. Of course he knew this book store like his own pocket, he came here quite often so he knew right where he had to go. And sure enough, there she was, right in front of him, skimming though sheet music. She took the collection of Lionel Richie and opened it, putting it in front of her face, examining it.

This was it. He slowly went up to the shelf, put his hand out and shoved the book down, revealing himself to her.

"Lionel Richie, huh? One of my favorites." he said to her, leaning down the shelf, as smoothly as he could. He was quite proud of himself for seeming so cool, because he knew he was. She looked much different than she had while performing, obviously, in every day clothes(which of course for Rachel meant a perfectly planned and stylish outfit, to make her look a bit superior to others, yet approachable and casual), her hair slightly pinned back. She looked… _real._

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Rachel said, startled, yet with a sense she had seen him somewhere before.

He wasn't surprised that she hadn't remembered him from Sectionals, she was in performance mode, and rarely do performers actually notice their audience while singing, as much as they try to make a connection with them. Afterwards they usually don't remember a single face they didn't know before.

"Probably not but I sure know you. You're Rachel Berry, you're in Vocal Adrenaline. I saw you perform at Sectionals."

"Wait… Are you the guy that was drooling over me during my performance?" Rachel asked with a quizzical brow.

"You remembered, maybe you're not such a diva after all," Jesse surprisingly answered, not showing that he was a bit embarrassed about the drooling part. "Your rendition of "Don't rain on my parade" was flawed. You totally lacked Barbara's emotional depth. But you're talented." He grinned, as he took Lionel Richie out of her hands and walked off. He knew she would come after him, he knew he had intrigued her. Nobody probably had ever dared to say such a thing to her but Jesse St. James wasn't a nobody. Sure enough, she was following him.

"Stalk me much? You still didn't tell me who you are." She said, sounding a bit demanding, offended yet flattered at the same time. Even though he seemed quite strange, she sensed something special about this mysterious guy.

"This is one of my favorite hunts. I like to come here and flip through the celebrity biographies, pick up some life style tips." He ignored her demand and walked over to the celeb bio shelf. He stopped and looked at her, for he knew he had to pay her at least a little bit of attention to keep her intrigued. She was obviously baffled by this stranger that was treating her like… Well, like she treated everyone else. Rachel didn't even know what to say, she was just about to walk away when Jesse looked over at the piano, and heading towards it, asked her a question.

"What do you say we take it for a spin?" he asked and sat down at the piano.

"Here?" she replied, thinking that he was completely crazy and would embarrass her in front of all these people. Rachel had absolutely no idea who this guy was (except that he was a musician of some sort, with him being at Sectionals and all), she was afraid she might have to call security that there is a mad person by the piano attempting to sing on key.

"What are you nervous or something?" he said provokingly. Though he himself was a little intimidated by her. After all, she was the lead singer of the National Champion Show Choir, and she truly was talented but had made up his mind that he would go for it – he couldn't shake the urge to sing with her.

"Please… I can hardly remember when I used to get nervous." Rachel replied arrogantly at the same time dazing off, trying to remember.

"Come on, I do this all the time." Jesse tried to convince her, snapping Rachel out of her daze. But this actually was true, he did do this all the time. He performed anywhere he could get an audience; he thought it would make him more noticeable or something.

Without waiting for Rachel's reply, he started playing. She was surprised at how good he was with the piano but she still was a bit anxious about him singing. He obviously knew what he was doing with the piano, and the security guard in the corner of the room seemed oblivious to this, as if it really did happen all the time. Maybe he wasn't a lunatic after all.

_I've been alone with you inside my mind._

_And in my dreams I've kissed you lips a thousand times_

Rachel was stunned as she heard him sing. He sang, as he looked intensely at her. It sent small shivers through her body but she didn't let him notice. This guy was amazing, his voice so soft, so contained, so…perfect. It was unlike anything she had expected, she was simply mesmerized by it.

_Hello, is it me you're looking for?_

Rachel couldn't help but join in, singing in harmony, as Jesse stared at her, she was so beautiful up close.

_I can see it in your eyes, I can see it in your smile._

_You're all I've ever wanted and my arms are open wide. _

Jesse was relieved and thrilled that she joined him, the feeling of accomplishment was what always kept him going, and right now this feeling made him feel like he could go on forever.

_Cause you know just what to say and you know just what to do_

_And I want to tell you so much I love you. _

They both felt the intense connection between them. Their voices flowed together so well, as one. They complimented each other perfectly.

Jesse signaled her to sit down beside him as they kept on signing. She sat down slowly, as if something was telling her not to, that it wasn't a good idea. But she looked in his beautiful inviting green eyes and couldn't help it. And Jesse couldn't help but smile as he watched her sing in admiration. Her voice was so beautiful and it was right next to him. It sounded even better when it was soft, and also up close.

_Hello, I've just got to let you know_

The excitement they felt was burning in their eyes, they could barely contain it. The thrill it gave them was unlike anything they've felt before. They just burst out in song.

_Cause I wonder where you are and I wonder what you do_

_Are you somewhere feeling lonely or is someone loving you? _

Jesse and Rachel were so taken in the moment, they're voices now loud and strong, as if one was trying to overpower the other yet it came out just right. No one can really describe what it feels like to sing together with someone, especially someone who can keep up with you.

_Tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue _

_But let me start by saying… _

_I love you. _

As they stared in each other's eyes they could feel their hearts racing, for a moment they had almost kissed but were interrupted by the applause of their audience. They hadn't even noticed there were people around them, it was just the two of them together in song, _their _song. It couldn't have been more perfect, they felt as if fate had brought them together, right then and there, with precisely that song. Jesse didn't even acknowledge the thought that Rachel was his rival for one second.

"We should do this more often. How's Friday night?" Rachel broke the silence.

* * *

I think I might be slightly too obsessed with these two, lol. And no, Jesse and Rachel haven't completely switched personalities, as you may have noticed – Jesse is still a bit more confident than Rachel. But later on it might make more sense. Jesse is just so awesome I can't even make myself change him one bit *swoon* but I'm trying. I'm still VERY confused as to where this original scene takes place, so I just went with book store. Also, Quinn isn't a cheerleader, if anyone was wondering. Anyway… Hope you enjoyed it and don't hesitate to review ;)


	3. Gotta keep yourself guessing

Friday had finally come, and it had never seemed to come so slow before. Jesse hadn't told anybody about his encounter with Rachel Berry the other day, especially not his dad. And that meant he couldn't tell anyone in Glee club, because he knew those immature blabbermouths all too well, his dad was sure to find out during a rehearsal. Jesse had a feeling Mr. Schue wouldn't be supportive of his decision about going out with Rachel, so he figured he would keep it unknown to others as long as he could. What would the team do once they found out? Not that any of them could tell him what to do, but anyway. He also hadn't contacted Rachel since they had met on Tuesday. _"Gotta keep her guessing" _he kept telling himself. Though he had to admit it was hard to stay away, he couldn't even keep count of how many times he wanted to call her or just show up at her doorstep. Jesse also couldn't believe that he had gotten 2 dates with 2 different girls in 2 days. Deep down he knew this meant trouble but for the mean time he'd just go with the flow. Because really, it was just a date, a first date, with both Rachel and Quinn. In his defense, Rachel was the one who suggested their date, if you could even call it a date. He'd have to see how it goes with both of them and then decided where to go from there.

At lunchtime Jesse decided it was finally time to make his date plans, via text message, because he didn't want to call her during school hours, she might be in class or something.

"_Hello Rachel Berry of Vocal Adrenaline. How's your parade this Friday afternoon? Pick you up at 7?"_

He didn't sign it, because that would require him to reveal his name. Besides, he put in far too many clues in that text for her not to get who it was.

After a few minutes he received a single word in reply.

"Lovely."

She had known exactly who it was and didn't even bother asking for a signature.

"Lovely" He repeated to himself and smiled.

* * *

It was 7:03 and Jesse had pulled up to Rachel's house. As he was driving he was curious about what they would talk about. What if she was a total snob? A diva he could handle but snobs were simply unacceptable in his book. What if she really wasn't educated in the arts, only a talented performer? She could be one of those girls that loves singing but has no idea who Mandy Patinkin was. Did they even share any other interests other than music? Not that Jesse had many other interests, anyway. Once he pulled up he wasn't sure whether he should get out and go to the door or just wait for her there. But as he was thinking Rachel was exiting her home and coming his way. Jesse got out of the car to greet her. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark blue dress shirt under this leather jacket. His hair was perfectly styled, as always. Jesse didn't care about what he wore (though his appearance was important to him) as much as how his hair looked. This was probably because of his father who usually spent 45 minutes to an hour trying to coif his hair just right.

"Hello there." He said, nodding his head a bit and raising one eye brow.

"You're late." she stated, approaching the car.

"Only fashionably." Jesse smirked.

They both felt a little awkward, since they had never actually really talked to each other, they were just so into the moment the other day that they didn't think ahead about the fact that they had no clue about one another. But Jesse had a feeling things would turn around. He didn't expect that what they felt back at the book store would suddenly reappear once they saw each other. So he attempted to break the ice a little.

"You look very nice." Jesse complimented her. She did look nice. Her long brown locks were perfectly and loosely curled and she had long bangs covering most of her forehead, and a little bit of her slightly heavily make-upped eyes. She was wearing what looked like an expensive white designer lace dress, though it wasn't too fancy. Green earrings complimented the dress along with matching colored flats. It was an excellent choice for a first date, whatever it may be. Even though Jesse knew no one else would see it, so it didn't really matter what she wore. There was something about Rachel that Jesse loved – she was trendy, yet there still was a hint of that timeless old-school glamour. The way she walked, the way she talked, acted and probably thought, too.

"Thanks, I hope I'm not over or underdressed, I wasn't sure what to expect." She admitted. Truth was she knew she couldn't go wrong with what she was wearing. It was classic, elegant yet casual enough to wear to someplace like a pizza parlor. But she didn't suspect this mystery guy would take her to such a cheap place.

"It's perfect". He said sincerely, before he went over to the other side of his car and opened the door for Rachel. Jesse didn't go on dates often but he knew how guys were supposed to act. And acting was something that Jesse needed to have down to perfection.

"Thanks." she said, giving Jesse a shy smile.

Without a word he got in the car and they were off.

"So…" Jesse said. "Uhh…How was your day?"

"You know you're not very good at small talk, and I'm not particularly fond of it anyway. How about we skip that and you just tell me where we're going?" she insisted.

"Let it remain a mystery for now."

"Wow. I'm sitting in a car with a guy I don't even know and he's taking me who knows where on a Friday night. Forgive me if I don't seem ecstatic." Rachel said and she didn't sound amused.

"Hey, need I remind that _you_ were the one who asked _me_ out? Besides, mystery is what makes life exciting. What would be the fun of living if you knew what was coming?"

"Perhaps you're right. Even though I know exactly where I'm going to end up in 10 years, you still gotta keep yourself guessing." She added.

Jesse turned to look at her in surprise that she just said that, as if she could read his mind.

"What?" she asked, reacting to his sudden stare.

"Nothing. You're just very interesting, Rachel Berry." He replied, giving her a curious smile and then turning back to look at the road.

"About that… Can I at least get your name? Or something I can summon you by?"

"You can call me… Christian." He said as if he had come up with a good false name and proudly presented it. The odd thing was that he didn't even react to the fact that she just said "something I can summon you by". Damn those narcissists and their acceptance of each other.

"Christian," She looked skeptically over at him "That's not your real name is it?"

"Reality is overrated." He smirked and shrugged his shoulders, keeping his eyes on the road.

"You really are something else, Christian." Rachel said, shaking her head and smiling.

They drove for about 20 minutes, until they reached their destination, a hilltop. It was about the highest place you could find around there, overlooking the city. It was around sunset so everything looked much more beautiful, the city lights were getting brighter and brighter as the sky turned redder and darker.

"I can't believe I've never been here before…" Rachel said, as she was getting out of the car and admiring the surroundings, "It's beautiful…"

Jesse smiled, being proud of himself. He didn't know whether she'd been there or not but he thought it was a romantic spot, plus there were no people around. It was just the two of them, the peak they were on, some trees and the view of the city. It was so quiet and peaceful.

"I like to come here to think…" Jesse finally said, staring off into the oblivion.

"That is such a cliché." Rachel said, rolling her eyes. But as she stared off herself she agreed that it was a great place to come and clear your mind. Rachel wasn't used to peace and quiet around her, she was always very busy or doing her best to keep everything organized.

After a few minutes of enjoying the scenery Rachel broke the silence, feeling anxious to get on with the evening, she didn't like not knowing what was going to happen. Rachel wasn't a fan of surprises.

"So…what are we doing here exactly?"

"Nothing really." Jesse replied, still staring, not even blinking.

"Nothing. You mean to say we drove half an hour to this place and all you come up with is 'nothing'? How can I know that you're not going to chop me into little pieces and leave me scattered all over here? How do I know th…"

_My gift is my song_

Jesse interrupted her rambling by belting into song, his voice echoing in the distance. Rachel suddenly stopped talking. Then he turned to her and continued.

_And this one's for you. _

_And you can tell everybody that this is your song_

_It may be quite simple but now that it's done _

_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words _

_How wonderful life is, now you're in the world._

Rachel yet again was left speechless by this mystery man, and she just looked into Jesse's eyes and experienced his voice as much as one can experience a voice. He sang like an angel.

"_Christian"_ she thought _"Of course, Christian from Moulin Rouge." _Jesse didn't know this but that was one of her favorite movies and she suddenly felt as if she herself was in this movie. Yes, of course she acknowledged the original author and song but she made the connection instantly.

This may have been one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done for her. And truly, the mystery made it that much more exciting. She now felt silly for blowing up at him. Never had she met such a boy, he was absolutely…fascinating. He was like her yet so much different.

_Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen! _

Rachel almost began to cry as he continued to serenade her, looking as sweet as anyone she'd ever seen. His voice was perfect for this song, and she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She tried to resist it but she was hopeless. The connection they both had felt a couple of days earlier was back, they could feel it like a magnet pulling them together.

_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words _

_How wonderful life is, now you're in the world!_

As Jesse ended his song, he saw that he had gotten under Rachel's skin. She could feel him in her bones.

By now the sun had set and the sky was still a little bright but making the perfect romantic moment. Once he couldn't hear his own echo anymore he asked:

"So did that answer yo-"

But Rachel didn't let him finish that sentence, she quickly went over to him, grabbed his face with her tiny hands lightly, reached up and kissed him.

* * *

After a few seconds Rachel pulled away from their kiss, which was just more like Rachel pressing her lips against Jesse's. She looked at Jesse, waiting to see his reaction. It was rare to ever see a boy who would object to her kissing him, she knew this. But this boy was different, she didn't know what to expect from him. Her face looked like she was terrified to do what she was just doing but she wanted to do it so bad she couldn't resist.

"You always kiss on a first date, Rachel Berry?" Jesse teased her. Truth was he had a tornado roaming around in his stomach. He hadn't expected her to kiss him but it made him so happy he couldn't describe it. It took almost all his willpower not to swoon and keep his cool; Jesse St. James wouldn't be caught falling head over heels over some girl that kissed her. After all, he was a dude. And to be honest, he was kind of hoping this would be the outcome, so he had a few good tricks up his sleeve.

She sighed, happy that he hadn't said something obnoxious. Well, more obnoxious than that.

"Only strangers, who drive me to the middle of nowhere and sing to me, so don't feel too special." she smirked, trying to cover up that she felt a bit foolish for kissing him like that.

She hadn't even noticed that Jesse had gently put his hands on her hips while she kissed him, so now he was holding her.

"How about you let me go now?" she asked, clearing her throat, once she noticed they current position.

"Now why would I do that? Give me one good reason." He wasn't about to let this moment pass just like that.

"I carry a rape whistle." She said, trying to sound as serious as possible but you could tell she was about to burst out laughing.

"Oh my God," He laughed. "You're more of a drama queen than I am."

"I'd give you 5 more but I wouldn't want to embarrass you." She replied, squinting her eyes and shaking her head. She knew she could tell him about some of the killer self-defense moves she had learned from Dakota Stanley (you'd be surprised at how fierce that little man is, you don't want to mess with him) or how she could sing up to a high G and totally hurt his ears.

"Is that right," he said, still holding her in his arms "then I'll just have to give you one more reason for me not to." He said, as he pulled her closer, looking straight into her eyes, feeling her heart beat next to his. He raised one of his hands to her face and pushed aside her bangs so he could see her eyes clearly. They were so big and brown, like puppy eyes yet very sexy. Even though it had already become dark outside, they could still see each other just fine.

Rachel had been left a bit breathless as she was being pulled in so close to him. Once she caught her breath she tried to make herself say something before he continued any further with whatever he was doing. She admired his confidence, she would have preferred they take things slower but then again she was the one that couldn't resist herself first, so she couldn't judge him. And it wasn't like she wasn't enjoying all this, he was so warm and smelled so good. She started to notice she was becoming a bit lovesick, which she wasn't expecting nor was going to accept.

"Is… is this some sort of…uhh…. master plan to make me fall in…love with you or something?" she finally formed a sentence, trying to snap herself back into reality and telling herself to keep her cool.

"In my defense, you were the one who kissed me first. And even if it is…. It's obviously working, isn't it?" Jesse said, still looking her in the eyes, as if he was trying to see through them into her mind. This was all happening so fast, he could barely believe it. Only 6 days ago he first laid eyes on Rachel at Sectionals, where she had blown his mind, and now here he was, standing alone with her in his arms, trying to win her heart. _"Not bad." _He thought to himself.

The confidence in his voice almost made Rachel want to puke, only because she always was the more confident one. What she didn't know was that Jesse was simply much more prepared for this situation and obviously a better actor right now. Though he wouldn't admit it, it was very important to him to do all of this right, he didn't want to blow his chance with her, which forced him to be this forward.

"You're so full of yourself, did you know that?" She replied, trying to change the subject and ease the tension between the two of them, which was almost too much to bear. The air seemed so thick around them, making it harder and harder to breathe.

"Oh, come on, Rachel. I know you feel it too…" Jesse said, ignoring her question, he knew she was just stalling. He had finally said what they both were thinking yet not willing to talk about. It was about time one of them said it out loud.

Oh yes, Rachel felt it. She had never had a connection like this with someone. It was as if they had been connected their whole lives yet had finally met. They barely knew each other but they felt like they'd known each other forever. Rachel was the one trying to fight this feeling, while Jesse just enabled it. It was the strangest thing they had ever experienced and they didn't know how to even explain it, all they could think of was fate.

"I… I'm not sure how I feel. I mean, I don't even know you, yet somehow I feel like this is the only place on earth I want to be at this moment." She admitted, knowing that there was no use in denying it. The only way she could think of expressing herself was through song, which was exactly what she did next.

_Suddenly the world seems like a perfect place, _

_Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace._

She sang out quietly, looking at Jesse. He smiled as he recognized the song from Moulin Rouge she was singing, guessing that she liked that movie, and joined in.

_Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste. _

Jesse stopped singing, wanting to see if Rachel would go on. And she did.

_It all revolves around you. _

She sang, smiling at him. This warmed his heart, she felt something for him. He once again joined in, adding his smooth, manly voice to compliment her soft, tender one.

_And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide_

_Sing out this son and I'll be there by your side_

Even though this song was supposed to be dramatic and vibrant, they sang with such peace, so quietly, yet filling the area with their sweet voices.

_Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide_

_But I'll love you…until the end…of…time._

They stared in each other's eyes for a moment as their echoes faded. Then Jesse pulled away and extended his hand to Rachel.

"Hi. I'm Jesse."


	4. There's something about Berries

_A/N: So I've been really inspired the past few days and I've been writing a lot. Now I've gotten to the best part so far(which is like 3 chapters away, so if you've enjoyed the first chapters, wait till you see what's coming), so I just want to upload this quickly so I can get to uploading that juicy stuff sooner! Sorry if it isn't that good, but I really don't have to patience to change anything, lol. Thanks for the great reviews, I'm so glad you like it! Some more very AU stuff coming up later but without further notice - major St. Berry fluff, enjoy!_

* * *

"Jesse…" Rachel repeated, as she took his hand and shook it "You do look more like a Jesse."

They spent the rest of the evening laying on the hood of Jesse's car, gazing at the stars, enjoying the dinner Jesse had taken along for them, resembling a picnic (which wasn't much of a dinner at all, more like nutritious snack. Jesse didn't really like eating after sunset, it wasn't part of his diet but he made an exception this time.), talking about their interests, their hopes and dreams. It was strange how comfortable they felt with each other. Maybe it was because they were so similar, as they found out. Yet one major difference caught Jesse by surprise.

"I'm sure you know this but my mom's the coach of Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel started saying.

"Uh huh… That makes me wonder, how come I've never seen you perform before?"

"Well… this is actually my first year officially being in Vocal Adrenaline. Before that I was too busy focusing on myself - vocal lessons, dance lessons… Anything to give me a competitive edge. And since Vocal Adrenaline needed a new lead female vocal, my mom finally decided I was ready for it. And also, no freshmen allowed in Vocal Adrenaline."

"Finally? You're like 10 times better than anyone in there, and I think you still would be even without all that preparation." Jesse said.

"Thanks. And I do love what I do, I love singing and performing, I know that the stage is where I belong. But it seems I just push myself and push myself to be the best yet my mother just keeps pushing me further, not really appreciating the effort I put in to please her. 'When I was 17 I was already working on Broadway' she keeps saying…I sometimes makes me feel like… like a failure." She admitted sadly, that last word cutting like a knife into her. She had never told anyone this before; she would never show anyone she was vulnerable. But it was dark and she was with someone she felt comfortable with, so she just started opening up, not thinking about tomorrow.

Rachel loved how she could be herself with Jesse; she didn't have to pretend with him, or even worry that she might say something wrong and he would think less of her. She didn't know Jesse well but somehow she understood and felt that he was like her and he also liked her for her. Rachel could actually admit that she thought Fanny Brice was the most epic character ever, instead of Regina George, which she often said at school. Of course, she was popular just because of who she was, the star of Vocal Adrenaline, the daughter of the coach and a rich CEO etc. But her pathological need to be the absolute best, most popular and influential led her to do things that she didn't necessarily like. With Jesse she didn't have to put on her show face, he didn't seem to mind her strange taste, he actually agreed with most of what she said, which both invigorated and terrified her at the same time. But she was just going with the flow.

Jesse hadn't expected her to say something like that. From afar it seems she has the perfect life – she was popular, beautiful, talented…. Suddenly felt so sorry for her, he couldn't even imagine how she was feeling but if there was something Jesse St. James despised, it was being underrated. His father always said he was proud of him, even if Jesse himself didn't feel confident about his performance. Mr. Schue actually often told Jesse not to push himself so hard, saying that Glee was supposed to be fun not a burden. Jesse raised his arm and pulled Rachel close to him, comforting her.

"If it's any consolation, I think you're the most amazing and talented person I've ever met. Trust me, I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it." He confessed, rubbing her arm. He genuinely felt bad for her – such a talented and devoted girl, but without strong support at home.

"Thanks…" she said and smiled. Though it meant something that a guy like him said that, it still didn't mean as much to her as it would if her mother was saying it.

"By the way, you still haven't told me how you're such an amazing singer." She said, changing the subject.

It was true, he hadn't. He also hadn't told her he was in New Directions. This all seemed so irrelevant. They had talked about everything else except their personal lives. Well, at least Jesse hadn't said much.

"Maybe I was born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline." He shrugged.

Rachel smiled and rolled her eyes. She was a bit disappointed, since she had just opened up and told him the most personal thing she could think of. But she also kind of found it freeing that she didn't know much about him, maybe then she would hesitate when talking to him.

"Fine." She said, as she curled up next to him. "But I'm bound to find out eventually."

"_By then you won't care anymore…" _Jesse thought.

"And also…" Rachel continued. "I hope you understand that I can't be in a relationship or anything like that. I have to focus on my music career." This seemed quite funny, since she was snuggling with Jesse on the top of his car but he knew that she was just in denial and would fold sooner or later. Or at least he hoped so.

"I always find that funny when people say that. It's as if they haven't realized that the love is what gives their music depth." Jesse explained. He hadn't intended to use the word "love" but it kind of just slipped out.

Rachel didn't respond to this but Jesse had a feeling she agreed with him.

"It's past 11. Don't you think we should go?" She finally said, as she sat up.

"Do you really want to go home?" Jesse looked at her with a curious look, daring her to say that she didn't.

"No… but if we don't leave right now we'll stay here all night." She said, knowing it was true.

"Well then I guess I'd better get a blanket." Jesse proposed, already getting up and getting a blanket from his trunk. Rachel didn't even bother asking why he had a blanket in his car, she was just glad he did.

As sunlight hit Rachel's face she rubbed her eyes and groaned in irritation, then opened them and saw Jesse. They were still on the lid of his car. It was morning. They had stayed there all night. She had told him things she would never ever tell anyone.

"Oh, God!" She yelled worriedly, as she quickly sat up from Jesse's arms and fixed her hair which she could feel was quite messy. She was amazed that Jesse's hair was still almost perfectly intact and a flush of jealousy ran through her but was quickly overcome by the fluttering in her stomach.

"Mmmm… what is it? If it's a bear I wouldn't bother trying to run, they really like Berries…" Jesse muttered, still asleep and not opening his eyes. He had such a bad, and I mean _bad_ sense of humor in the morning.

"Get up!" Rachel hit him on the chest "You have to take me home before my mom wakes up!" She knew deep down this was highly unlikely, since her mom got up very early, even on a Saturday morning but it was still worth a try.

"Alright…" Jesse said, as he rolled off the car and landed on his feet. He might have still been asleep but he was conscious enough to understand that Rachel really needed to get home before her mom catches her.

They both quickly got in the car, Jesse yawned as he raised his hand to put the key in the ignition.

"Hey…" Rachel said, as she put her left hand on Jesse's hand. "I had a lovely time." She said sincerely but also a bit embarrassed.

"Anytime." he smiled back at her.

Right at that moment Rachel's phone rang. Her eyes widened in worry as she saw who was calling.

"Great…" she muttered. Then she took a breath, told Jesse to be quiet and flipped her phone open.

"Hi mom…I know, I'm sorry, me and Giselle were having a movie night at her place and I fell asleep and just woke up like 3 minutes ago, I was about to call you… Yes, of course we watched "The way we were", mother… Oh… When will you be back? …Ok, see you tonight, bye."

"_She sure is a pro at this." _Jesse thought as he listened to her come up with an effortless lie to her mother, though it's not like it was anything unusual among teenagers. Perhaps it was just the way she said it, even he almost believed her and he 100% knew it was completely false.

She closed the phone and gave out a little sigh of relief. Rachel's mom bought her story about Giselle and told her then not to hurry home for she was heading to Chicago for the weekend. Rachel was more than thrilled to hear this, it meant she was off the hook and able to spend some more time with Jesse, which she surprisingly wanted to do. She quickly sent Giselle a text saying "FYI, I was at your place all night ;) xo" and she knew her friend would understand immediately.

"So… How about some breakfast?" She turned to Jesse as she flipped close her phone and smiled invitingly.

"Smooth, Berry. Very smooth." Jesse said, raising one eyebrow, a bit surprised at the sudden change of heart.

Rachel just gave an obnoxious smirk and shrugged.

"You could come over to my place if you want. My parents aren't home and I make some mean waffles." She proposed.

"And yet again you are breaking the rules of a first date by already inviting me in." Jesse teased as he started the engine.

"What can I say… I'm a rebel." she laughed, and they drove off to her house.

* * *

"So who's this Giselle girl that I'm supposed to be?" Jesse asked as they were driving to her house.

"She's my friend from school. She's also in Vocal Adrenaline so my mom knows her and trusts her. If by any chance she asks Giselle what happened she'll back me up 100%."

"Sounds nice."

"Only as long as you don't piss her off," Rachel admitted. "Vocal Adrenaline girls are pretty hard core."

Rachel wasn't even exaggerating; Vocal Adrenaline girls were the worst kind of girls in school. At least most of them. It was one way to handle the pressure of being in such an intense club. The competitiveness, the pressure, the determination…it all added up to a terrible bitch. Who knows what Vocal Adrenaline would be without those mean girls. After all, their choir motto was _"__Aut neca aut necatus eris_" or "Murder or be murdered."

"Ok, since you're coming to my house, I at least get an answer as to what school you go to." Rachel finally laid down some ground rules.

"Fair enough. McKinley High. My dad's a Spanish teacher there." He answered, without hesitating. He still wasn't sure whether to tell her "_hey, by the way, I'm also the lead of your biggest rival"_. Not yet.

"See, was that so hard?" Rachel teased and smiled. "At least I know you're not some drop out who lives in his car."

"You knew I didn't live in my car. I told you about our interior designer redoing my bedroom last month. Weren't you listening?" This was one of the things they had talked about the previous night, as they discussed their tastes and interests.

"It was a metaphor." Rachel rolled her eyes.

They pulled up to Rachel's house and went inside. Rachel lived in a gated community and her house was very nice. They must had a gardener taking care of their perfectly trimmed lawn and flowerbeds. Everything seemed a bit overwhelming - they even had a pool in the back.

"Who has a pool in Ohio?" Jesse said, as if stating a ridiculous fact. Though the fact of the matter was, he was pretty impressed with everything. He wasn't sure what her dad did for a living but he definitely did it good. And her mom probably makes a nice salary, with Vocal Adrenaline being national champions and all. Plus Carmel High was pretty prestigious and mostly rich kids went there.

"You left out _heated _pool, Mr. Know-it-all. A girl with a voice such as mine couldn't possibly swim in water colder than 90 degrees, it would be nonsensical. And I take a swim every morning to wake myself up."

"Oh…Far out." Jesse exclaimed, raising his eyebrows and nodding his head.

"Who are you, Michael Lang or something?" Rachel said, as she couldn't understand who says that anymore. There was just something about Jesse that drew her in and found him fascinating.

"I'm surprised you even know who Michael Lang is. I thought the hippy genre was a little out of your league. But I'll take that as a compliment." Jesse replied proudly.

After giving a semi-tour of the first floor, which was in fact bigger than Jesse's entire apartment, they headed to the kitchen.

"Do you mind if I go upstairs and freshen up?" Rachel asked, a pleading look in her eyes that said she was wasn't comfortable in her designer dress for breakfast.

"Not at all. But that's totally unfair, just you know."

"Make yourself at home, I'll be right back." Rachel smiled and headed upstairs.

Jesse just nodded and took a look around the living room, examining the family photos, trophies, books and other things they had there. He smiled as he saw Rachel's first singing competition trophy. She had come in 1st place and she was only 2 years old. This was nothing compared to him, he had been only 8 months old (he was very musically verbal, as he would say).

After Rachel had changed, fixed her hair and make-up, she went downstairs and saw Jesse looking at her family photo albums.

"You didn't tell me you grew up in New York." Jesse said, without looking at her, but knowing that she was coming his way.

"I wouldn't quite say that. We moved when I was 8, when my mom retired from Broadway. And it's not like you say much about your own life, either." Rachel said and turned for the kitchen.

"Ok, fine. What do you want to know, Rachel Berry?" Jesse said, putting the album away and heading towards the kitchen, which Rachel had almost reached.

"Well… What made you the way you are?" She said, as she opened the refrigerator door and looked through the products inside, taking out the eggs, some maple syrup and a ton of different berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and any other kind of berry you could think of.

"I was expecting more of a "what's your favorite color" type of question but alright," Jesse said, as he sat down behind the counter top, on the other side of Rachel.

"But… That's a secret I couldn't possibly tell anyone." he continued "Maybe after a while you'll figure that out yourself." Truth was he just didn't really have an answer for her, and Rachel sort of suspected this but she was just checking.

"Ok. How about you last name?" she continued to interrogate him.

"St. James." Jesse answered, without hesitating. He couldn't possibly lie to her, though the fact that she might find out that he was a geek from New Directions might make her never want to see him again pretty much terrified him. Jesse didn't want to mess this up.

"Are you serious?" Rachel asked skeptically, stopping what she was doing to look at him.

"I know, it's a total rock star name, thank you. But it's 100% real. As is my talent, btw."

"Whatever you say. So why did you come up to me at the book store?" She kept asking, as she poured some flour in a bowl and getting some sugar from the cupboard.

"I found you intriguing after seeing you at Sectionals. I thought it was a shame that two so talented people such as ourselves weren't acquaintances. That just wasn't right. And I simply had to seek you out and point out your flaws." he joked.

"You're such an egghead." She laughed.

"I'm not!" Jesse grinned and shook his head.

Rachel went around the counter and faced him, reached over, grabbed an egg and smacked him on the head with it, with an unsure look on her face, yet she tried to keep on a brave face.

Jesse, outraged, and having egg dripping down his forehead, opened his mouth in shock as Rachel tried no to burst out laughing. He grabbed the bowl of flour and took a handful of it and threw it in Rachel's face. She gasped and reached for the sugar, throwing at him as he tried to stop her. While she was laughing and covering him with sugar he got hold of the maple syrup and before Rachel had time to cry out "no!" she felt the cold syrup in her hair, on her face and neck.

"Now that was too much!" She yelled and she took the syrup out of Jesse's hands and did the same to him. Jesse saw the only thing left on the counter untouched – the cartons of berries. He quickly opened them and threatened smearing them all over Rachel's face.

"Jesse St. James, you wouldn't!" she cried out, a part of her being pleased that she could finally say and even more that she knew his whole name.

They were both laughing so hard this whole time they could barely catch their breath. They were ridiculously covered in waffle ingredients but it was clear that they were having the time of their lives. They felt so free, so careless. Jesse took a blueberry and squished it on Rachel's cheek, smearing it all the way from her right cheek, over her mouth to her left cheek. She gasped in shock and without a second thought did the same with a raspberry. Then suddenly she felt the taste of raspberries combining with blueberries as Jesse kissed her on the lips, then trailing off to lightly kiss her syrupy cheek, her neck and then rose up back to her lips. If there was one thing Jesse had in his advantage it was that he didn't have to taste raw egg, which Rachel thought she did as she kissed him but she didn't even mind.

"You were right - you're waffles really are great." Jesse said as he broke away from the kiss just for a moment, before kissing her again.


	5. An elephant in the park

At first I thought I was making things go too fast between Rachel and Jesse but then I realized that things did in fact go really fast with them on the show, so that made me feel better :D Thanks for all the nice reviews and be sure to tell me what you think!

* * *

As Jesse was opening the door to his apartment, he braced himself for a scolding. But he didn't care, he had just had the best night and morning of his life. Yes, it had even topped the time Simon Cowell told him he was spectacular and to come back and audition when he was older(Jesse had auditioned for American Idol when he was 14, of course, he blew the judges away but he was too young). He closed the door behind him, entering the front room. Jesse saw his dad sitting on the coach, pretending to read the paper, but obviously sitting and worrying about Jesse.

"Back so soon?" Will said sarcastically, looking over at the clock. It was around noon.

"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't call…or… you know, come home." Jesse said, but failing the puppy look miserably.

"Listen, I know you're 17 and almost grown up but I still was worried sick about you. You can't do that. Where were you?"

"I was on a date," Jesse admitted. "With Rachel Berry." he manned up and said it. He felt that what he had with Rachel was real and his dad was bound to find out eventually.

Will just sighed and shook his head. He was baffled, yet he didn't feel that surprised. The thing that interested him most was how that happened.

"I had a feeling something was up. Son… I can't tell you who and who not to date but do you really think that's a good idea? I mean, she's in Vocal Adrenaline. How did she even agree to go out with you? And why were you out all night?" Mr. Schue always tried to be as considerate as possible. His own father was very hard on him and never listened to his side of the story, which was why Will had vowed to be a friend to his son, as well as a father. Plus, Jesse was a smart kid, he never got into any major trouble and Will couldn't even remember when Jesse had last gone on a date. He trusted Jesse, which was why he didn't see the point in punishing him hard for not calling once.

"Don't worry, we just talked. And sang a little. You don't know anything about her. I know that being on opposing teams would strain our relationship but I'm hoping our deep respect for each other will pull us through. And uhh… I sort of… haven't really told her I'm… in New Directions… yet." Jesse said, staring at the ground, looking guilty of some kind of crime.

"What? Geez, where have you gotten yourself into…" Will knew his son well enough to know that once he'd made up his mind about something, it was more likely Lindsay Lohan would sober up than Jesse St. James change his mind.

"Hey, I just spent the last 17 hours with the most amazing person I've eve…"

As Jesse continued to ramble on about what a great time he had, Will realized that he truly cared for Rachel and this was something he hadn't seen before. No, this wasn't just professional admiration anymore – Jesse had fallen for Rachel Berry. And as much as Will didn't approve, he knew there was little he could do about it. He had already forgotten about the fact that Jesse had been out all night, now there was a bigger problem at hand.

"Ok, ok," Will interrupted. "I get it. You're happy. And I'm happy that you're happy. I just want you to think about this and be careful. Have you thought about what the team will say once they find out? Better yet, what will Vocal Adrenaline do once they find out?"

"Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants." Jesse replied.

Will just looked at his son with a pleading and defeated look. He knew it was hopeless. Deep down he also knew that he needed to give Jesse space to live his life and make his own mistakes, as hard as it was to do that.

"Alright. As long as you keep your personal life and glee separate, I guess there's no real threat."

"Of course. Now excuse me but I really need to take a shower." He had raw egg in his hair that was probably good for it but it was the worst feeling ever.

"Oh, and son…I really am happy for you." Will said sincerely.

"Thanks." Jesse replied, as he headed for his room.

* * *

No Monday had ever seemed so excruciatingly long and dull as the Monday after Jesse's first date with Rachel. Who could focus on geometry when you had to plan your next big date? First he had to know the exact date and time she would be available. When they parted ways on Saturday, they didn't quite plan another date, they just agreed that there would be one. Inconspicuously taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he started writing a text under the table.

"_Hi. When shall we meet again? Can I pick you up after school?" _

It was almost lunchtime for Jesse, and he was hoping it was the same for Rachel (meaning she would reply sooner). Much to his surprise, the reply came almost immediately.

"_Can't." _

Jesse frowned but understood that she probably is very busy.

"_Alright, what about some other day?"_

This reply took a little longer.

"_Won't you have glee practice or something?"_

Crap. The cat's out of the bag. She knew. Rachel Berry had found out that he was in New Directions and her competition. She probably thinks that Jesse was a spy or something.

"_Ok, busted. Will you at least let me explain? Please." _

Jesse pressed send and let out a huge sigh.

"Jesse, is everything alright with you there in the back?" Mrs. Gillespie interrupted him of his deep thinking. This was one of his favorite teachers, maybe because he had known her since 1st grade, so they had a pretty good relationship.

Snapping out of it and paying attention to his teacher and the rest of the class, who were staring at him he replied "Excellent, thank you. How are you doing up front ma'am?"

Some of the class chuckled, some rolled their eyes and the popular kids were too busy not understanding anything to even notice the subject had changed.

Mrs. Gillespie just shook her head and smiled. Jesse was always so charming.

"I'm good, though I'm feeling a little lonely up here talking to myself. Mind paying some more attention?" She turned around to the board again.

"Certainly." Not. His phone buzzed and he flipped it open before it had even finished buzzing.

"_Fine. Pick me up from school at 3:05. And DON'T be late. I can't be seen waiting on someone. Especially not you."_

Ouch. Harsh much? But Jesse didn't think he deserved any better, he hadn't been honest with Rachel and that was that. He wasn't sure how he'd get there in time, since his last class ended at 3:00. He would just have to go to the nurse's office and say he felt sick and ask if he could go home. Jesse had never done this before but he heard that the school nurse, Terri, was easily fooled.

* * *

Once class was over Jesse rushed out of the classroom to his locker. He didn't acknowledge anything that was going on around him, he was too focused on thinking about what he would say to Rachel. He placed his geometry book in his locker and closed it shut, only to be startled by Quinn Fabray giving him a fierce look in front of him.

"What was that on Saturday? You'd better have a damn good excuse because if you just stood me up I'll castrate you."

Outstanding! Four days ago Jesse had dates with two girls and now both of them were pissed at him. And they had every reason to be. After his date with Rachel Jesse had texted Quinn and cancelled their plans for Saturday night. Yes, he texted her. What? He had unlimited texts, why bother calling when you can send a message for free? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.

"Listen, I apologize if you were expecting me and I disappointed by being absent. I hadn't intended anything of the sort. I simply had some other important matters to attend to this weekend." Quinn always felt confused when he talked like that but she had grown accustomed to it. She figured he meant he was busy. Honestly, Jesse wasn't sure what to say so he went into a ramble that he wasn't sure made sense at all but the important thing was that it had sounded somewhat eloquent.

"Oh. But last week yo-" Quinn started saying.

"And also," Jesse interrupted "I've kind of been seeing someone." He knew he really shouldn't have told her about Rachel right this instant, but he valued his friendship with Quinn (as well as them being co-captains of New Directions) and he didn't want to ruin it by deceiving her.

"What? Since when? Why'd you even ask me out then?" A completely baffled Quinn said.

"Well, it's not really official yet. But now it's official enough for me to have to decline your offer. You had your chance with me, Quinn. I've been waiting for you all year and now I've finally moved on. I'm sorry."

"Oh…Then I guess I'm, uhh… happy for you. See you later." She said with a forced smile and rushed away without letting Jesse speak another word. What else was she supposed to say? It was obvious she felt humiliated or hurt or something. Whatever she was, it was _not _happy. Such a short conversation yet so much had been said. Jesse felt a tad bit terrible himself, he totally just blew her off. This was a whole other mess that Jesse couldn't think of right now. Quinn would get over it sooner or later. Now he had to confront Rachel.

* * *

By 3:03 Jesse was sitting in his car right in front of Carmel High School. This could very much be his only shot to make things right with Rachel, he couldn't blow it. His relationship with Rachel, though quite recent, had grown on him, he wasn't about to lose it.

He had rolled down the windows of his car and put on the radio pretty loud. Madonna's "Burning up" came on. Before he knew it, he was belting out along Madonna, really feeling and understanding this song for the first time.

_And day and night I cry for your love  
You're not convinced that that is enough  
To justify my wanting you  
Now tell me what you want me to do?  
I'm not blind and I know  
That you want to want me but you can't let go  
Come on, let go_

_I'm burning up, burning up for you lov-_

He was interrupted by someone opening the passenger door and getting in. This someone, of course, was Rachel Berry.

"Drive, superstar." She said.

Jesse pulled out of Carmel High and then continued singing along overdramatically.

_Do you wanna see me down on my knees?  
Or bending over backwards now would you be pleased?  
Unlike the others I'd do anything  
I'm not the same, I have no shame  
I'm on fire!_

Rachel couldn't help but let out a laugh. She knew she was supposed to be totally pissed but honestly, who could be mad at someone who's making a complete fool of himself for you?

Fate really couldn't have been on Jesse's side more. This song was perfect for this situation and the timing was spectacular, it couldn't have gone better if he had planned it.

Once Rachel had put herself together she put on her tough face again. Jesse pulled into a nearby park and stopped the car.

"Should we step outside?" Jesse asked.

Rachel nodded and opened the door to get out.

They started walking but neither of them spoke. Alright, if that's the way she wanted, Jesse would just come out and say it.

"So… to address the elephant in the park, you know about me being in New Directions. I won't even ask how you found out, I just wish to say that I'm not involved in espionage and I don't have some secret agenda of seducing and destroying you or anything like that."

"Fascinating, then why did you leave out this _minor_ fact? It's not really the fact itself that angers me. It's more that you deliberately kept it from me!"

"I'm sorry." Wow, he sure was apologizing a lot today. "I just knew that if I introduced myself as Jesse St. James from your rival show choir, that'd shut the door for further communication, and I…well, I simply had to get to know you." This was no time for smartass comments or sarcastic remarks. It was now or never and Jesse just had to come clean about everything.

Rachel understood his previous argument, she probably wouldn't have given him a chance if she knew who he was when they first met.

"How do I know you're not playing me?"

Jesse let out a laugh. "You really think that my team would have a better chance of beating you at Regionals if I'd seduced you? Without you Vocal Adrenaline would win anyway."

"Wow, I hope you're not the one saying the motivational speeches before your performances. Cause you pretty much suck at that."

Jesse stopped and turned to her, taking her hand in his. "I'm in glee because I love performing. Of course I would love to be the best but it really doesn't mean that much to me. I'll conquer that height on my own, after high school. I'm nuts about you, Rachel. I would never hurt you."

Damn that St. James and his charm!

"But I understand if you're not comfortable with this arrangement and would wish to end our affair." Jesse sadly said, letting go of her hand.

Rachel looked at him with a frustrating look that he couldn't quite read. Then she leaned in and hugged him. Jesse let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled as he rested his head on top of hers. She really was a tiny girl but their silhouettes fit together marvelously. It was ridiculous how quickly Jesse had convinced her but Rachel had never felt this way about anyone before. All Rachel ever did was mostly to please her mother and Jesse made her feel so alive, so free to do what she wanted. She felt so safe in his arms, as if nothing else mattered. Other than him being a spy from his team (which she truly believed he wasn't, because, honestly, New Directions were more likely to win the Superbowl than Regionals), she really didn't see any other problem with them seeing each other. Except one – her mother. Then she snapped back in to reality and understood what must be done in order for this to keep on going.

Rachel looked up to him.

"No one can know." She said, in all seriousness.

"I understand." Jesse replied and gave her a peck on the lips.

Truth was Jesse didn't completely understand. He had no idea what would happen if Rachel's Shelby and Vocal Adrenaline found out. They would definitely not be as accepting of this fact as Jesse's dad was (and Jesse knew Mr. Schue would keep this private if he'd ask him to. Neither of them wanted chaos in New Directions because of Jesse's love life). Rachel knew if they found out there would be hell to pay.


	6. Representing honesty

I love writing AU, it's so fun. Warning - Quinn's back! And she's not happy.

* * *

"Hey, Jesse!" Tina called out, as Jesse was entering the McKinley choir room. "What's this I hear about you dating someone?"

Tina Cohen-Chang. Ugh, such a pain in the ass. The diva of McKinley. The fashionista of McKinley. Head cheerleader of the nationally ranked Cheerios. The Regina George of their little high school. Her minions Kurt and Brittany were always running along with her. She was only in Glee because her football player boyfriend, Matt, was in glee, for reasons unknown. But she was a fantastic singer and when it came to the team, it seemed she really enjoyed being in glee, even if she would never admit it. Deep down she was kind of nice but she rarely let anyone see that side of her. Everyone was convinced she had a heart of steel up until that time they sang "Imagine" with those deaf kids. Tina actually shed a tear and made friends with one of those kids. From that time on everyone looked at her differently and tried to bring that side out again but they were starting to think it didn't even exist anymore.

"Where did you hear that?" Jesse replied. He was both feeling proud that there was some gossip about him but at the same time he was worried the jig was up.

"Oh, come on, Jesse, when you're seen outside your home with someone who's not your relative, it gets noticed, God knows why." Kurt announced. It had actually already been about two weeks since Jesse was going out with Rachel but alright, at least they'd made it that far. Though he was pretty surprised Quinn hadn't already blabbed to everyone about him having a girlfriend.

"Alright... Yes, I have in fact been seeing someone. Is there a problem with that?"

"Other than the fact that someone actually enjoys your company, not really. But we can't have you being all lovey-dovey and not focusing on glee. Who is she anyway? Assuming it's even a girl." Tina replied.

"She's… a girl I met at the music store. You wouldn't know her. And I assure you guys it won't be a problem, I'm a professional. I won't let my love life interfere with this."

"I have to agree with Tina, dating an outsider will definitely pull you focus off of us and we can't afford that, not before Regionals." Quinn stated, trying to seem as objective as possible but this was obviously said more out of pure jealousy. What happened to "I'm happy for you"? Whatever.

"I think it's cute that Jesse's seeing someone." Santana Lopez added from the back.

"Hey, book face, this is a conversation between non-nerds," Brittany spat at her, then turning to Jesse, "Or at least _some_ non-nerds." Ah, Brittany. She sure was a ray of sunshine. Leave it to her to outtalk you.

Santana lowered her gaze to the floor. It was her dream to get into the University of Chicago and she was always studying really hard. She was considered a dork for it. But she didn't really mind, she knew she would get further in life than those three. And she had her best friend Mercedes with her in glee, which was awesome. Mercedes had a fantastic voice but she was very shy and insecure. Every time Mr. Schue would want to give her a solo she would say that he should better give it to Tina or Santana, they were so much better than her. But she was getting there, one day she would be ready for her time to shine.

"Guys, guys, chill." Matt intervened "Let's not get all stressed over nothing. If Jesse says it's fine, it's fine. I mean, when has he ever let us down?"

Everyone was dead silent. That was true, Jesse was the most reliable and trustworthy person on the team. It might not often look like it but they really did make a great team and formed a family, and every family had their fights. But at the end of the day it always came out fine.

"I'm still not cool with this." Tina proclaimed, breaking the silence just as the bell rang and Mr. Schue was entering the room. Jesse could hear the rest of the group mumble something too, but he didn't want to take the time to make out what they were saying. They were probably just agreeing that they didn't want Jesse to be happy. Or so he had already decided in his head.

"Hey, guys, take a seat," He said. "How many of you have ever felt like you can't express yourself? Like you want to tell somebody something to make them understand how you feel but you just can't say it in words? What do you usually do in that situation?"

"Nothing. Feelings are for wimps." Mike said.

"I would tell you but it's too dirty." Brittany smirked as Kurt high fived her.

Jesse rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sing about it."

"Exactly!" Mr. Schue said. Of course Jesse was the one to say that. "This week's assignment is to find a song that represents honesty. We often don't take the time to empathize for one another. We all have our problems and I have a feeling there has been some tension between you guys lately and this might be the perfect solution."

"_This is going to be interesting." _Almost everyone thought.

* * *

The next day Quinn had already had a performance ready. She had a thing about doing stuff in 24 hours or else it wouldn't get done at all. She had asked everyone to come to the auditorium.

Once they got there and sat down, the curtain rose. The band was in the back corner while Quinn was center stage, surrounded by about half a dozen girls, including Tina and Brittany. Everyone was surprised that Tina was willing to sing backup but their eyes weren't tricking them, she was there. They started dancing and singing as the music started.

_Hey! Hey! You! You!  
I don't like your girlfriend!_

_No way! No way!  
I think you need a new one  
Hey! Hey! You! You!  
I could be your girlfriend!_

"_Oh no, she is NOT going there." _Jesse thought. Singing Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend"? Really? He couldn't believe what was happening. Clearly she was aiming her song towards him. Jesse had no idea Quinn was so determined to make him hers. He felt flattered yet creepy at the same time. This just looked ridiculously desperate. Jesse looked over at Kurt who was dancing along in his seat, really into it and from the looks of it, he helped with the whole thing. It was pretty surprising that he wasn't up there on stage with them, too. Then again it would be awkwardly strange if he were singing about wanting to be a girlfriend.

_You're so fine, I want you mine  
You're so delicious  
I think about ya all the time  
You're so addictive  
Don't you know what I could do to make you feel alright?  
Don't pretend, I think you know I'm damn precious.  
_

"This is offensive." Artie pointed out as the girls danced some pretty provocative moves. Not that the guys minded it, it just seemed very strange and not at all like Quinn. Yes, she usually was very vocal about her feelings but this was taking it to a whole other level. This was a straight on bashing of Jesse's new girlfriend, who no one even knew. Quinn even had put in some hot pink hair extensions to look more like Avril, it was absolutely ridiculous.

_She's like so whatever!  
And you could do so much better  
I think we should get together now  
And that's what everyone's talking about!_

Mr. Schue just rolled his eyes and sighed. He really didn't need such drama in his club. This was not looking good. And this wasn't what he meant when he gave them this assignment.

Once Quinn and the rest of the girls were finished most of the glee club stood up and applauded vigorously. Yes, as a performance it was great but everyone understood that it wasn't meant to be just a performance. Noah Puckerman, of course, just kept sitting and reading his book. He really didn't engage in such drama, that was beyond him. He was in glee because he thoroughly enjoyed singing and performing but teenage angst wasn't in his repertoire. When it came to that he stayed out of it all together.

Jesse felt a little sick. Did Quinn really think this would go down well? He couldn't believe how his teammates (and he'd like to think friends) would support such a thing. Were they all really that against him dating someone? That whole 'dating an outsider' was total BS. Mercedes had been dating a guy from a different school and no one minded that. They wanted Jesse with Quinn or no one, possibly because Quinn had gotten to them. He thought that at least Matt had his back, since yesterday, but Tina probably persuaded him otherwise. Jesse knew that this song was supposed to make him realize that he should be with Quinn but he was furious. This was just ridiculous. He ran out of the auditorium before anyone could stop him.

"Thank you, Quinn, for that… honest performance." Mr. Schue said, to take the focus off the fact that his son had just shown them firsthand what a storm-out looked like.

* * *

The next day Jesse had his own performance ready. He was going to show them how he felt about Rachel and hopefully make them understand that that is also none of their business. Yesterday after the Quinn incident he called Rachel up and they had a nice, long talk. She calmed him down but not in the usual "calm down" kind of way. Just by hearing her voice he felt better. Rachel made him feel as if he could do anything, as if he was invincible and nothing could bring him down. Jesse had told her before about Quinn and how he didn't have any feelings for her. So Rachel felt more sorry than jealous, even though there was a hint of jealousy somewhere deep down, as could be suspected. No girlfriend would take the fact that there's another girl prying on your man lightly but Rachel was mature enough to just let it slide and try to make Jesse feel better. Indeed, Quinn's performance was quite juvenile and inappropriate but teenager girls tend to do stupid things, as does everyone. Jesse just needed to calm down and make Quinn realize that he was over her and there was no going back. While he and Rachel were talking on the phone he came up with the perfect song to describe Rachel and how he felt when he was with her.

"Hello everyone, for our this week's assignment I've chosen the great Billy Joel's song "She's Got A Way". Since it has come to my attention that some of you are uneasy with the fact that I'm not longer completely and utterly dedicated to New Directions and have been dating someone, I thought I should address this situation accordingly. Besides the fact that the rest of you should start carrying a little more weight around here, rather than just putting it all on me, which is a good enough reason for accepting my relationship, I don't think any of you have even thought about how I feel. So, with that being said, I hope you enjoy."

He turned away and sat at the piano and started playing.

_She's got a way about her  
I don't know what it is  
But I know that I can't live without her _

Everyone suddenly felt a little awkward. They had never seen Jesse St. James like this. They didn't know he was capable of such emotions, they honestly thought Jesse was just smitten by some girl and would get tired of her sooner or later. But he was proving them wrong.

_She's got a smile that heals me  
I don't know what it is  
But I have to laugh when she reveals me  
She's got a way of talkin'  
I don't know why it is  
But it lifts me up when we are walkin' anywhere _

Mr. Schue was the most surprised of all, he had no idea his son felt that way. Good thing he gave them this assignment or he would have been kept in the dark for a while. Yes, he and Jesse talked and he knew he really liked her but he thought it was just a high school crush that would eventually pass. Obviously he was wrong.

_She comes to me when I'm feelin' down  
Inspires me without a sound  
She touches me and I get turned around _

This song was perfect for Jesse's voice. He made this song sound even better than Billy Joel himself, which is saying a lot. As he was singing it was obvious he had gone into his own little world. He was lost in thoughts of Rachel.

_She's got a way of showin'  
How I make her feel  
And I find the strength to keep on goin'  
She's got a light around her  
And ev'rywhere she goes a million  
Dreams of love surround her ev'rewhere_

Ok, now everyone was just feeling bad for judging him. They could see that he truly cared for this mystery girl and this was something new. If Jesse was happy then they were happy for him. They knew he'd never betray the team of anything, he would still give 100% to the team. Most of them were just afraid that without him giving his all they would have no chance at Regionals and they needed to place or else the club would be cancelled.

_She's got a way about her  
I don't know what it is  
But I know that I can't live without her any way._

Who was this girl and what had she done with Jesse St. James? If Jesse was singing this way about a girl she must be really, really special. As she was fighting back tears, Quinn felt defeated and completely humiliated, once again. She never thought she'd be this jealous of Jesse's girlfriend but once he told her he was going out with someone, she realized how much she liked him and how much she wanted to be with him. A perfect example of "you don't know what you've got until it's gone". But it was clear who Jesse had chosen. She had her shot and she didn't take it and now it was too late. She'd just have to learn to accept it.


	7. Life was good

SPOILER ALERT: So,I'm super excited about hearing the news that Jon Groff will most definitely be back once he's done with his play in London. Yay! *does happy dance*

And also, starting next week, I'll be gone until September and I really don't know when I'll be able to update next(I know, I hate it when people say that but now I get it). Therefore, here's another chapter and I'll try to do my best while I'm away.

Thanks again for reviewing, sorry to disappoint the person who wished I don't have a life so I could update sooner :D

[This might be my favorite scene in this whole story. Probably because it seems the most real to me, since I saw it one night in a dream and I wrote it down instantly, it gave me a whole new perspective on this relationship. I don't quite remember all of it but the point's there. Thumbs up for teenage hormones! And yes, I'm aware that having dreams about your AU Glee characters is a bit obsessive :D ]

* * *

It was the afternoon of one of the most important days in Rachel's life. She was invited to sing at an event at City Hall. The major factor was that there would be representatives from The Juilliard School of Arts in New York. It was Rachel's dream to get into their prestigious music program. If there ever was a time she got nervous, it was now. Not that she was nervous about performing, more anxious to impress the Juilliard folk and even more, her parents. Her dad had a few days to kill before his next business trip, so he and Shelby were visiting some old friends. They promised Rachel they would be there to see her sing at 7 o'clock.

Rachel was pacing around her room, doing vocal exercises, as well as getting ready (doing her hair, make-up…), while Jesse was just sitting quietly on her bed. He understood what an incredible honor this was for Rachel and how much she was looking forward to it. Jesse had offered to come keep her company, keep her calm before the performance. For the past 17 minutes Rachel hadn't even acknowledged his presence, she was too busy to focus on him. It was only 5:28 but Rachel liked being prepared.

About 5 minutes later, Rachel made herself take a moment to catch a breath. She stopped and looked around - Jesse was playing with his fingers, looking bored as hell, as well as looking like an abandoned little boy, that no one wants to play with. She suddenly realized how happy she was that he was there with her, how good he made her feel. They had been secretly dating for the past 57 days and were astonished at how good they were at keeping their relationship private. Kids at McKinley knew Jesse was seeing someone but they all thought it probably was some home schooled music geek. Some of them had seen her with him but they had no idea who she was, or at least they had no idea she was from Vocal Adrenaline. After Jesse's performance of "She's Got A Way" they realized that this was for real and accepted the fact that Jesse was happy and tried not to get involved, they understood Jesse wanted to keep things private so they just left it at that. And Rachel was very good about keeping her emotions intact, so no one would notice how she's been positively glowing inside for the past two months. Right now_ s_he knew Jesse would probably do anything for her if she asked him. Rachel looked over at the huge bouquet of red and white roses he had just brought her; she walked over to and fixed the composition, remembering the other night.

_*FLASHBACK*_

Rachel and Jesse were sitting on his bedroom floor, studying. Of course they both had separate homework but they liked just being with each other, they didn't have to do something together to enjoy spending time with one another.

"Hey…" Jesse said, putting his text book down and looking up at Rachel.

"What is it now? You really aren't very good at math."

"No, it's not that. I was just wondering if you're busy Friday night."

"It depends on what you have in mind." Rachel replied, giving a quirky smile.

"Well…The guys and I got a gig playing at Joe's Joint. Any chance you would want to come?"

"Wow, congratulations! Of course I would! I've been dying to hear Saint James. You always talk about how you're in a band but I've never actually witnessed it. Makes me wonder if it's even true." She teased.

The place was almost packed and everyone seemed to love Saint James. Probably because they sounded pretty freaking amazing. Jesse, Puck, Artie and Chris (who was the only one of them that wasn't in glee club because he couldn't sing, he was just a fantastic drummer.) really made an excellent team. They did a few Queen songs, something from Stevie Wonder, and an original song, written by Jesse which was incredible. After that Jesse took his microphone, stood up from the digital piano they had there and faced the crowd.

"This next song goes out to someone very special to me sitting in the audience."

What Jesse had just said seemed so sweet but he said it so casually that the only person who was truly touched by this was Rachel, because she understood it was meant for her.

They started playing the Kings of Leon song "Use Somebody". Noah and Artie sang background while Jesse sang lead (of course) and it sounded remarkable.

_I've been roaming around, always looking down and all I see  
painted faces, fill the places I can't reach_

_You know that I could use somebody...  
you know that I could use somebody..._

_Someone like you and all you know and how you speak  
countless lovers undercover of the streets_

_You know that I could use somebody...  
you know that I could use somebody..._

_Someone like you!_

Rachel just stared and smiled as she watched and listened to Jesse sing to her in front of about 60 people. He just kept on getting better and better. Not once did she regret giving him another chance after she found out he was in New Directions. That was about the only thing they didn't really talk much about – their choirs – just to be safe. After all, they knew that Regionals was coming up and they were up against each other, and they weren't going to so soft on each other, either.

Jesse ended his song and also his gig, staring contently at Rachel.

_I've been roaming around, always looking down and all I see…_

___*END OF FLASHBACK*_

As she was tampering with her flowers Rachel had another realization that she had to share with Jesse. Jesse was still in his own little world, a look of both sadness and understanding on his face. He was truly happy and proud of Rachel, even if it didn't look it at the moment. Rachel also realized that she had been completely ignoring him, so she suddenly went over to the bed where he sat, and crawled up into his lap, putting each of her knees beside Jesse's hips and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jesse, as if instinctively, put his hands on her waist, holding her tight, but he was startled, to say the least.

"Shouldn't you get your hair don-"

Rachel cut him off by giving him a slight kiss on the lips.

"You know. I usually hate getting flowers from guys," she said, going on to kiss his right cheek, slow and sweet. "It makes me feel uncomfortable." It was true. When a guy gave Rachel flowers she always hesitated and she wasn't sure why. Wasn't that supposed to be some romantic gesture that made you happy? She just never felt it, perhaps because she didn't feel comfortable with the guy who was giving the flowers.

Jesse frowned. He was only trying to make her feel better, not uncomfortable. And if that made her feel bad, why was she making him so damn hot right now by being so awesomely affectionate?

"But I love these." She whispered, as she started to nibble on his ear.

Shivers went down Jesse's spine as she did so. Whoa, that was something he had never experienced before but it felt so good. After Jesse had gotten over the initial shock of his forward girlfriend, he smiled and pulled away so he could see Rachel's face.

"You're going to blow everyone away tonight, I hope you know that. You might even want to turn it down a notch so somebody doesn't get a heart attack."

Rachel giggled. He was being so incredibly supportive she just couldn't stand it.

"Thanks. And thank you for being here with me. Tonight I could use someone like you, too." She said, as she pulled him in for a passionate kiss which led to them making out on her bed for the next 23 minutes. It was erotic and romantic. Good thing she didn't do her hair before that.

* * *

The event had already started and Rachel was about to perform "Don't Rain on My Parade" once again. She was to enter through the back door and make her way through the room, as she'd done many times before. Jesse was right there with her, awaiting her queue. Rachel was foundling her hair, which was perfectly curled, and was sporting a dark blue and black dress. Both her parents were sitting out there, along with the Juilliard representatives, the mayor and many more noticeable figures in society. This was by far the most influential and important crowd she had performed for. One of the judges from Sectionals had called her mother up and offered Rachel to sing tonight, because she had been so incredible at Sectionals. Jesse saw that she was getting a little nervous, so he took her hand as he heard the announcement "Without further due, Rachel Berry from Carmel High School's National Champion show choir Vocal Adrenaline!" being made. He really wished he could be sitting at a table on the other side of the door but it wasn't possible. He would just have to listen from outside and take a peak though the back door.

"Break a leg." He said, smiling and sending her off, as he heard the music start.

"I love you." Rachel said with a sigh.

And then she was gone.

* * *

Gone. Out there she went. Rachel Berry had just said those three words to Jesse and just swept off into her performance. It was a little unorthodox but it somehow fit the two of them perfectly. Jesse would have preferred to be the one saying it first, in some kind of romantic setup but this seemed just spur of the moment, which was much more romantic. It seemed so true, so real, and nothing can beat that and the feeling you have afterwards. True, they had only known each other for about two months but when you know, you know. Love usually hits you when you don't even expect it. Jesse knew he was in love with Rachel much earlier but somehow he had been hesitating to say it. Now he was left there, alone, listening to the girl he loved knock the socks off the most powerful people town. Life was good. He knew he wouldn't have it any other way.

Rachel's performance went wonderfully, as expected. She received a standing ovation and everyone was impressed. Her mother smiled proudly, as if she was completely responsible for this success, but Rachel was glad for at least that. What they all didn't know was that she had just told Jesse she loved him for the first time. It was the first time ever she told a boy she loved him. And it was true, he was her first love. She didn't plan on saying it but it just came out. Rachel was just so overwhelmed by the support he was giving her; she realized that she really did love him, and she hoped to hell that he loved her back. During her performance she felt so free, so happy, so…in love. This emotion radiated through the room and touched everyone, which made for a perfect performance. Life was good. She knew she wouldn't have it any other way.

After her performance Rachel ran back out to Jesse, who was almost in the same spot he was when she left. She ran over and leaped into his arms as he spun her around.

"You were spectacular," Jesse said, as he put her down and looked her in the eyes "And I love you, too, Rachel Berry."

Rachel never knew that hearing those words could warm up your heart so much. This was easily the best evening of her life, she had a good feeling about Juilliard and everything just seemed to be going so well. She smiled as she hugged Jesse again, her smiled turning into a soft laugh. Jesse buried his face in her hair, inhaling the sweet smell of it. Gosh, he loved everything about her. He lifted his head to kiss her but after a few seconds he heard someone walking in their direction, so he opened his eyes to see what was going on. He suddenly broke the kiss and a look of worry overtook his face.

Rachel took a look over her shoulder to see what was disturbing them.

"Mom!" she gasped.

* * *

I'll upload the next chapter once I get back from the weekend. Until then, keep guessing what's gonna happen :)


	8. Unpleasant encounters

Sorry for the wait, I've been crazy busy! My flight leaves in like 4 hours, so I haven't had time to review this, so sorry if there are mistakes or something. I'll try to update by the end of the week but I can't promise anything. Anyway, thanks again for being so awesome ;) Here's some drama for ya!

* * *

Jesse had been on edge all day. He hadn't heard anything from Rachel since the other night at City Hall. He was worried about what had happened to her. Rachel had warned him that if her mom found out it wouldn't be good, but he really didn't know what to expect. Rachel hadn't been returning his calls, which also really irritated him. All he wanted was for glee practice to be over so he could drive over to Rachel's house. What had her mom said to her? What if she tells Vocal Adrenaline and let her have what she's got coming? He couldn't even imagine how mean her teammates would be, Rachel wouldn't be able to handle it, she's not used to people picking on her, unlike himself…

"Earth to Jesse!" His thoughts were interrupted by Quinn Fabray's voice and the looks from the rest of his team. He had been on speaking terms with Quinn, she had apologized for the whole "Girlfriend" incident and asked if they could be friends and try to get things back to normal.

"Uhh, yeah, sorry. What were you talking about?"

"We're voting on what songs to do for Regionals. Rachel by any chance hasn't said anything about what Vocal Adrenaline's doing, has she?" Tina said.

What was that? How did she find out about Rachel? He bet it was that dork Jacob and his stupid blog. From some reason he was obsessed with Jesse and it really creeped him out. He was probably following Jesse and Rachel somewhere and then did some background check on Rachel or something.

"Wait, what?" Some of the glee clubbers voiced their confusion.

"Didn't you guys hear? Jesse's girlfriend is the lead of Vocal Adrenaline." Tina told the group.

This, of course, caused uproar of both frustration and anger. Why was this happening to Jesse? He was NOT in the mood to deal with this right now.

"Yes, it's true." Jesse admitted. There was no use in denying it.

"And Mr. Schue knows about this?" Santana asked in shock.

"From the very beginning. He had faith that I could keep our relationship and glee separate and so far it's been working out perfectly."

Mr. Schue was just walking in the door and the whole class started to bombard him with questions, accusations and from some reason Matt started rambling about how obviously Hawaiian pizza is the best because it has ham and pineapple on it. Everyone was too busy to notice his ridiculousness.

"Guys, guys, settle down! What's the problem?" Mr. S. asked.

"Jesse's sleeping with the enemy!" Kurt yelled out.

"Hold on, no one's sleeping with anyone. Just because he's in a relationship with someone from Vocal Adrenaline doesn't mean he's a traitor." Mr. Schue replied.

"Does to." Brittany remarked as the rest agreed.

"Yeah, Jesse, don't you think that's kind of suspicious? We make it to Regionals and suddenly the top girl of our main competition picks you up?" Quinn questioned.

"I know that it's hard to believe anyone would like me without an ulterior motive but you have to respect that our love is real." Jesse spat back at her. Who was she to judge him? Who was anyone to judge him? They needed him on the team more than anyone.

"We were fine with you dating someone, St. James, but now we know you're dating someone from Vocal Adrenaline? This is blasphemous behavior." Santana said.

"Even I'm not down with that." Puck added, to everyone's surprise.

"Guys, come on. Regionals are in two weeks, if Rachel really has a secret agenda and if we all stop focusing on our performance but on her, than she will have succeeded. I say just let it go for now, I'm sure Jesse will handle this on his own. He's not telling Rachel any of our plans, aren't you, son?"

"Of course not. I still don't see what all the fuss is about, why don't you guys just trust me?"

Mercedes finally spoke up. "Look, Jesse, we're all happy that you're happy but we've worked too hard in glee club to let you throw it all away on a relationship that might not even be real. We just think that until Regionals are over, we can't risk the possibility that she's playing you."

"Listen, Hot Shot, either you break up with her or you're out." Tina demanded.

"Whoa, guys, you can't do that!" Mr. Schue interrupted.

"What we can't do is have a traitor in our midst, so if Jesse won't break up with her, and he won't quit, then we will." Tina said. She knew at least she and her minions would quit.

"Well….Good luck winning without me!" Jesse threatened. He was outraged by this whole situation.

"Everyone is replaceable, even you." Kurt said.

Bad move. Jesse hated being treated like everyone else, he was better than them, he could do whatever he wanted because he was a star. How dare they set him an ultimatum? When has he done anything to deserve this? Ok, other than dating Rachel. Jesse took a deep breath, looked at everyone. No one was on his side. And he knew even his own father couldn't do anything to help him. So he turned around and left. He had to go find Rachel, she would know what to say to make him feel better.

"He'll be back." Tina assured the team.

* * *

Jesse stepped up to Rachel's front door and rang the doorbell, anxious to just hold her in his arms. He was so relieved when Rachel opened the door, he lunged at her, pulling her into an embrace. He immediately let go and started to ramble.

"I'm so glad you're home and ok. I was worried when I didn't hear from you, why didn't you answer your phone? I was beginning to think maybe you were kidnapped or you mother sent you to boarding school or some other horrendous place like Nebraska."

"Jesse, stop that babbling, I'm fine." Rachel said. There was something suspicious in her voice, it didn't sound like her.

"Can I come in?"

"Oh, I'd rather you don't."

"Why not? Is something wrong?" Jesse was beyond confused. Two days ago she was professing her love to him and now he couldn't even come in her house?

"Well, that depends on what you define as 'wrong'. I'm sorry it has come to this but I was actually on my way to see you and tell you that we must end this little tango we've been doing." Rachel said, with a bored facial expression, as if she had grown weary of their relationship.

"What?"

"The cat's out of the bag. Now you know my mother knows and there's no way I can get around that fact. The jig is up."

"Stop using metaphors and talk to me, Rachel!"

"I don't expect you to understand. Don't you see? It was all a game. Nothing more."

"I'm confused, what are you talking about?" Jesse really was frustrated - Rachel wasn't making any sense at all. Jesse was speechless. Was Rachel drugged or something, what was up with her?

"You couldn't possibly think I would actually fall for you, could you?" Rachel laughed.

He refused to believe her, he knew it couldn't be true. She was trying to make him believe it was all an act.

"No, don't do this. I see what's going on. Your mother put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Why of course, who do you think came up with the idea once I found out who you were? Things couldn't have gone more perfectly, I must admit. Well, other than the fact that it all came to an end before we beat you at Regionals. You're so gullible and so easily seduced."

"Rachel, stop. That's not true, what's really going on?" He said as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Face it, you got played, hard. It was all just an acting exercise. How many times am I going to have to explain it? Why do you think I was the first one to ask you out? The first one to kiss you? The first one to say 'I love you'? Please, don't embarrass yourself by thinking it was real."

"I don't believe you. There must be something else, tell me the truth!" Jesse was furious, he wouldn't accept what Rachel was saying. It couldn't be true…could it? Was she really playing him all along?

"The truth, Jesse, it was all an act. This is my life and my future we're dealing with. I couldn't give that all up for a silly teen romance. Now, if you would be so kind, please leave. Goodbye, Jesse."

Rachel closed the door, leaving Jesse alone and heartbroken on her porch. She turned her back to the door and rested her head on it, letting out a huge sigh. That was the hardest things she'd ever had to do. Then she let the tears she'd been holding in come down.

"Rachel!" She could hear Jesse scream from the other side of the door. "RACHEL!"

* * *

TWO DAYS EARLIER.

Shelby didn't want to make a scene at City Hall so she just told Rachel they'd talk once they get home. Now they were home and the tension and suspense was killing Rachel.

"So, Rachel… About that boy. Don't think I didn't recognize him. I understand what's going on and I'm surprised I didn't find out sooner," Shelby said, as she was walking back and forth across the room, while Rachel just sat on the couch. "How long has this been going on?"

"Uhm…About two months." Rachel admitted. She hadn't felt this awkward for such a long time and she didn't like it. She also felt terrified about what her mother would say, so she was basically at a loss of words at the moment.

"I can't believe you would do this. I can't even describe how disappointed I am in you…"

"I-I'm really sorry but you just don't understa-"

"Oh, don't you dare even go there. I think you're the one who doesn't understand. You've betrayed your team, your own mother, and for what? Some boy you met a few weeks ago?

"I don't see the prob-"

"He's your competition, Rachel! What were you thinking?" Shelby interrupted.

"Mom, I know it sounds crazy but I really like him and I think that we can make this work if we jus-"

"Stop, please! Dear God, just stop. Seriously, Rachel?" Shelby raised her and stopped Rachel from rambling. "Let me talk, you just sit and listen. I understand you might think you're in love and this boy is special and you'll be together forever. But let me tell you something – it's not gonna happen. High school sweethearts never last past high school, trust me. I've lived it and seen it many times, I work in a high school after all."

Rachel frowned as her mother started her lecture she was expecting. She was humiliated that she had let her mother down so much that she even had to do this. Rachel knew this would happen sooner or later, why did she think she could get away with this? Perhaps she would have made it until Regionals and after that her mother wouldn't really object to it. Or at least so she'd like to think.

"You being in Vocal Adrenaline – now that is going to open the doors to your future. Tonight you really impressed the people from Juilliard and you now have a real chance of getting in two years from now. Boys and relationships come and go and only a fool would get distracted by feelings or emotions. You have to be strong to make it in the world. Have you forgotten that FAME is the most important thing in our culture now? And haven't you learned that no one's just gonna hand it to you? Not even to mention the fact that he's our rival! Did you even consider he might be playing you?"

"He's not, honestly! I made sure of that. We don't speak of anything choir related, I'm not that dumb." If only she could make her mother understand but she wasn't sure she could, Rachel didn't think her mom felt about her dad the way she felt about Jesse.

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that. Here's what's going to happen," Shelby said seriously, "you will break up with that boy. Then you will tell everyone in Vocal Adrenaline, if they find out, that you were just playing him, trying to distract him from Regionals. After that you are not going anywhere but school and rehearsals until Regionals, where you will perform exquisitely and crush your little crush and his pathetic team of outcasts and misfits. Am I clear? I won't have you throwing away all we've put into this just for some random boy who's blinded you with whatever he has in the place of charm. Needless to say if you don't oblige I will be forced to kick you off the team."

It was as if Rachel could see the light again. Everything her mother had just said was true and it made complete sense. She felt so ashamed of herself for letting Jesse get in the way of her focusing on her dreams. The thought of him made her stomach suddenly flutter but she chose to ignore this feeling and hoped it would soon pass. Deep down Rachel was always aware that her Romeo and Juliet romance with Jesse would suffer an ill-fated end, it was inevitable. There's a reason they're called star-crossed lovers. They're stars had met and it had been great, but in reality there was no way this could work. Maybe in the future, maybe if things were different… But right now she couldn't afford to let her mother down and risk her future, and Jesse's. He would be better off without her. What would their relationship be like once Vocal Adrenaline won Regionals? How would that affect their relationship? Jesse could say he didn't care but Rachel knew it was important to him to win. It's only natural to want to be the best and win. How could they manage being together when every time they'd meet after Regionals he'd be reminded of how her team took that title from them? How could he be supportive of her when she'd be getting ready for Nationals? How could she say "I'm sorry you lost" to Jesse after Regionals, when she really wasn't? What would the rest of his team think of her? They would never, ever accept her and give Jesse hell every time he spoke of her. This was too much, too much. Inside her heart was breaking but she put on her show face and answered what she knew she had to.

"Yes, mother. I understand. And I'm truly sorry for my deception." She said, sounding ashamed yet trying to seem brave and invincible. Rachel knew she was in no position to stand up to her mother and all she could do was to succumb to her wishes. She couldn't risk getting kicked off Vocal Adrenaline and throw her whole future away.

"Good, I'm glad that's handled. I think it's time for bed, don't you?" Shelby said and went about her evening as usual.

All Rachel had been feeling these past two months got crushed in a conversation with her mom that lasted about 10 minutes but it felt like an eternity. If there was one person in the world that could change Rachel's mind about something – it was her mother. But this time she was absolutely right and Rachel didn't have any other choice but to obey, as much as it was killing her to think about what she was going to have to do.


	9. Show them what you've got

Remember how I warned you guys in the very first chapter that some characters might be VERY different? Well, yeah, I was mostly talking about Shelby. But I'm glad I got some kind of different reaction out of you :) I've barely been at the computer this week, so I can't promise an update that soon, sorry! But here's a whole lot of chapter for you in the meantime!

* * *

Jesse felt like he had no reason to live anymore. What point was there in living without Rachel by his side? The world seemed so grey and dull without her. Every smell seemed nauseating and every sound irritated his ears. He was sitting in his room, not doing anything, just staring out his window. Every time Mr. Schuester tried to talk to him he got kicked out. Of course Jesse was being overdramatic about this whole thing but he was still very depressed. Even worse than that he was confused about this whole situation, it all just didn't make sense. But perhaps he was just in denial and didn't want to accept that Rachel really was just using him to eliminate the competition for good.

"Hey, honey. How was work?" Mr. Schue greeted his wife with a kiss as she returned from her 12 hour shift as a nurse at the hospital. She was pretty good with the messy stuff and she loved taking care of people, because she was a very loving person in general.

"Oh, the usual, giving people sponge baths and changing IV's. How's Jesse?" Emma replied as she took her shoes off and threw them in their shoe corner.

"Awful. I've never seen him like this and I don't know what to do. He won't come out and he won't let me talk to him. He blames me for letting him fall for Rachel in the first place, as if there was something I could have done about it."

"Don't you start blaming yourself, everybody knew there was little you could do about it. And besides, this could be good for Jesse – he'll learn from his mistakes. But maybe I should try talking to him? I could at least get him out of his room." Emma said. Although she was only Jesse's step-mother, they still were pretty close and usually, when Will couldn't help Jesse with something, Emma sure could. It was a nice balance.

"I guess it couldn't hurt."

She smiled, put her purse down on the table and headed to Jesse's room. She knocked on the door and opened it.

"Hey, can I come in?"

Jesse didn't even blink. Well, since Emma didn't receive a 'no', she went on it.

"So, how's it going?" Emma tried to make conversation as she sat down on Jesse's bed next to him.

Jesse just gave her a mean look, making her understand that that was about the worst question she had ever asked him.

"Right, right, ok. Bad question. Do you want to talk about it? About Rachel I mean? I know it may not seem like much but sometimes just saying something out loud helps deal with it."

There was a long pause. The silence was extremely uncomfortable and Emma was just about to get up and leave in defeat when Jesse finally spoke.

"I knew there was a reason I never wanted to fall for someone, I knew I would end up getting my heart crushed like the stage floor for the performance of Stomp." He said.

"Well, you know, that's just life. It pains me to see you like this, no one deserves to feel this way, but sometimes you have to go through a tough experience and it ends up making you stronger. If you just give in, you're letting Rachel win."

"I know but I just can't. She was amazing, I felt so alive and free when I was with her. She understood me and I her, we made a perfect team. I just can't believe it was all an act. But if it's true then I'm ashamed I let myself fall for someone who didn't care about me. She never loved me. And why would she..."

"Oh, don't say that. Just because you fell for the wrong girl doesn't mean you should let it reflect poorly on you. Yes, what she did was wrong but perhaps there's more to the story than you realize."

"Nothing matters except the fact that she doesn't love me."

"I disagree. There's a good quote I like, that fits this situation. It goes "Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'" And I think you should think to yourself right now, in five years, do you think you'll still care about a girl who broke your heart back in high school?"

"Yes." Jesse replied seriously, as if insulted that Emma was taking this so lightly.

"Ok, that's it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. This is just what she wants – for you to give up. I suggest you get up and show her what she's missing out on. Put all these emotions into your performance for Regionals and show everyone that nothing can bring you down – you're a star and you will shine no matter what."

Jesse took a moment to think about what Emma had just said. Then an idea hit him.

"You're right. No one messes with Jesse St. James and gets away with it. I may still love her, God knows why, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let her win. Two can play at that game." Jesse said, grabbing his cell phone and dialing Quinn's number.

"That's the spirit." Emma said, feeling proud of herself. Though she wasn't sure this would all go down very well. But at least he was doing something and that was enough for her.

"Hey, Quinn. Are you busy?" Jesse asked over the phone.

"_Not really. What's up?" _

"I have an idea for Regionals that I very much wish to discuss with you."

"_But I thought you weren-"_

"I'll explain later. Can I come over?"

"_Sure. I'll be waiting."_

"Great, see you soon."

* * *

Rachel was alone on the Carmel auditorium stage, belting out "On My Own" before practice. Singing was her way of coping, and she needed to try and get over this Jesse thing. Once she was done she just stood there, alone. She had never felt this bad on stage, so lonely, so unfulfilled.

"Rachel!" Giselle waved, as she came in the back door and was making her way up to the stage with a couple of other Adreninites.

"Hi, guys." Rachel replied, trying to put a smile on her face.

"You look awful," Giselle said, "is everything alright?"

"Of course. I'm just a little stressed and I didn't get much sleep last night." Oh, boy, was that true. She had spent almost the whole night crying but she knew what she had done was for the best. Jesse would forgive and forget her, eventually. And she just kept hoping she would be able to forget him, too. Her mother had reminded her about what was most important and she needed to get back to that track if she was to get anywhere in life.

"Does that have anything to do with the geek you've been secretly dating from McKinley High?" Paul Newman blurted out in front of the whole team.

"What geek?" Giselle asked.

"Not that it's anyone's business but I was technically seeing someone, he was their male lead. But it was all just a scam to distract their glee club from Regionals. And it seems to be working, I hear that he's left and they have no chance without him. Not that they even had a chance to begin with."

"That's what I call devotion." Shelby said as she entered from the back of the stage. "You should all learn from Rachel and take matters into your own hands if you want to win. I hope you understand what I mean."

"Funkification." Paul nodded and said. They knew exactly what she meant.

"I'm thinking…Hit them with GaGa." Shelby ordered.

Everyone let out a cheer in excitement, except for Rachel. She was definitely not looking forward to this.

As the rest of the team left, Rachel stayed behind to speak with her mom.

"Mom? Can I sit this one out? I'm really not up for it."

"Oh, darling. I know this might be hard but trust me – it'll do you good. The satisfaction of winning will be worth it at the end. Now go get your costume and be on your way."

* * *

As Vocal Adrenaline was sneaking in the back of the McKinley High auditorium, Rachel glanced over at the parking lot, only to see Jesse getting out of his car. He then went over to the passenger's side and opened the door for no one else but Quinn Fabray. She knew it was Quinn because she had checked out her Facebook page, but she was even more gorgeous in person. Rachel suddenly felt a bit jealous. But why? She had broken up with Jesse and he was bound to move on eventually. Though it had only been 3 days! Rachel's narcissism kicked in when she was outraged at how quickly he could forget about her. But she couldn't help it – it hurt seeing that.

Giselle saw the way Rachel's face sunk at the sight of this. She wasn't really sure what was going on but she figured that was Jesse and for some reason seeing him upset Rachel.

"Rach, are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I just need a minute."

Rachel rushed into the auditorium and ran backstage by herself. There she saw a mirror and walked up to it, looking at herself in her costume from head to toe. She looked awesome, anyone would agree. She was a star, what could possibly bring her down? Show business was her life, her passion, her dream. This was the year that she was going to win Nationals, opening so many doors and offering so many opportunities. Any college would love to have her. But what would it all mean if she didn't have anyone would loves her beside her? She loved Jesse but she was sure he didn't love her anymore, once he thought it was just an act. How would she find the strength to face him now, especially with Quinn by his side? No, no, no. Everybody loved her, she's a show stopper. She didn't need anything else but the love of the audience she performed in front of. Even if this McKinley audience wasn't going to show her some love, Regionals sure would.

"_Snap out of this. It's lonely at the top, you know that! What's that song about overcoming professional and personal disappointments? Oh, yeah… "When you're smiling, when you're smiling the whole world smiles with you…"_ She took one last look at herself and nodded. Her team was depending on her. She could do this.

* * *

"Thank you for coming." Rachel said, as she stood on the McKinley High stage, facing New Directions, which she had invited to the auditorium. She was in a ridiculous yet ferociously fierce black and white outfit, and it was obvious they were about to do Lady Gaga. The rest of the group was also dressed in incredible outfits, no way could New Directions even dream about having the budget for something like that. They all felt intimidated already. Jesse wasn't sure whether he was ready to see Rachel yet but he didn't have much of a choice, he had to do this, and he had to face her and them. The look he gave Rachel as she stood there could break even the toughest person's heart. Rachel had come this far, she couldn't back out now. Besides, Quinn was right there next to him, why the long face? The anger (which was really jealousy but she liked to think of it as anger) she was feeling was almost starting to shoot out of her eyes.

"The blogs and chat rooms say that we're finished and you guys are ripe to topple us. We just wanted to show you a little something we came up with, to see if you agree with that assessment." Rachel put on her sunglasses and got in position for their number. The lights dimmed before going all wild and crazy and dazzling New Directions. Fake smoke started to come up, making it look like they were walking in the clouds.

_Mum mum mum mah!  
Mum mum mum mah!_

There is little one can do to get ready for the awesomeness that is a Vocal Adrenaline performance but nothing could get you ready for this - this was like watching Gaga herself, it was incredible, from the very first second. If this was what they had now, what did they have prepared for Regionals? Right now they were doing "Poker face" with Rachel as lead. How ironic. New Directions didn't even know their auditorium had such lights but Vocal Adrenaline was pushing it to the max, it looked like a laser show or something.

_I wanna hold em' like they do in Texas Plays`  
Fold em' let em' hit me raise it baby stay with me  
(I love it)  
Love game intuition play the cards with Spades to start  
And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart._

Jesse was seeing Rachel Berry in a completely different light, figuratively and literally. First of all, never in a million years could he imagine her pulling off Gaga, yet she was amazingly convincing. Every word she sang was like a slap in the face, couldn't they have chosen a song that would hurt even more? Not that that was even possible. But who was this person in front of him? It was as if she had turned into a fame monster herself. Was she really capable of such deceit just to win a competition? His mind told put everything together and said that she was an awful person who didn't have a heart and was just a great actress but his heart just wouldn't accept this, he truly believed he had seen the real Rachel and she couldn't do this. But right now his mind was winning. Once the pain had sunk in, Jesse felt full of anger. The nerve she had, coming here after breaking his heart and now flaunting how amazing she was in front of everyone. If this was supposed to get him even more depressed than they were failing miserably – now he was more determined than ever to beat them at Regionals, no matter what it would take. 

_Oh, oh oh oh oh, o-o-o-o-o-oh  
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got  
Oh, oh oh oh oh, o-o-o-o-o-oh  
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got  
_

Vocal Adrenaline were busting out moves that the rest of the guys had no idea were even physically possible. They even had managed to have pyrotechnics on the McKinley stage. That was pretty embarrassing, having another team use your stage better than you yourself. Jesse took a look at his teammates – to say they look terrified was an understatement.

_Can't read my, can't read my  
No, he can't read-a my poker face  
(she's got to love nobody)  
Can't read my, can't read my  
No, he can't read-a my poker face  
(she's got to love nobody)  
_

As Rachel was singing the words she hoped to hell that she was pulling it off and Jesse couldn't read her poker face. If telling him she was playing him was the hardest thing she'd ever done, than this was the second hardest thing. Every second of this performance was painful for her. Especially the "she's got to love nobody" part, which was sadly becoming the story of her life. Gosh, why was this so hard? As much as she tried to space out and just perform, she couldn't. Not when Jesse was sitting right in front of her. But she was pretty sure that if this wouldn't convince Jesse, than nothing would.

_P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face  
(Mum mum mum mah)  
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face  
(Mum mum mum mah)_

This was unlike anything anyone in New Directions had ever seen before. Except Tina, who had gone to a Lady Gaga concert and even she was impressed with Vocal Adrenaline. They all were thinking they should just retreat and not even go to Regionals after seeing that. But they knew that wasn't really an option. No one could say anything, they needed a moment to absorb what they had just watched.

"Thanks for letting us use your auditorium, guys. It's quaint." Giselle sniggered, as they made their way off and out.

Rachel took a final look at Jesse, who now had put on a poker face of his own. But she couldn't take it, this whirlwind of emotions was getting a bit too hard to handle, so she turned around and left without a word.

"I'm guessing that was your girlfriend?" Santana asked Jesse.

"Didn't look much like a girlfriend to me." Kurt said.

"Guys, come on, we've got some serious work to do." Jesse said.

* * *

As they were making their way back to the choir room they were all talking about how amazing Vocal Adrenaline was and how they stood no chance at Regionals, they didn't have to budget for such costumes and they couldn't dance like that if their lives depended on it. Once they had reached the choir room and taken their seats Jesse stood in front of everyone.

"Stop talking like that! We can't let them get the best of us. I know I made a mistake with Rachel but if we give up now then she won. I still don't completely get it, or even believe it, but it doesn't matter. We are going to Regionals and we need to at least place, if not beat Vocal Adrenaline."

This didn't seem to convince anybody. Then Quinn got up and stood next to Jesse.

"I'm with Jesse. I won't say it's not of personal interest to take that little bitch down but I still don't think we should just sit back and do nothing. Jesse and I have come up with a few good ideas, so come on, let's get to it!" she said.


	10. You've done worse to me

Thanks for the reviews, guys! I've been sooo busy but I made some time to write a little somethin' somethin'. I'm still jetlagged believe it or not, so sorry if this might seem strange in some places, you know, writing-wise. And sorry for separating Jesse and Rachel but they need some drama. Aaaand, it's AU but still based on what really happened so, sorry if it's breaking your heart… But believe me, it was probably more painful writing it than reading it! Ok, I'll stop apologizing now. And don't worry – I'm a hardcore St. Berry fan, I wouldn't dare to even think of separating them for good :)

* * *

EARLIER THAT MORNING.

Jesse woke up, feeling much more optimistic than the day before. Last night he had been at Quinn's and they brainstormed ideas about Regionals and he was pretty proud of what they'd come up with. They couldn't beat Vocal Adrenaline from the technical perspective, so they would have to put everything on the emotional one, they would have to touch the judges and show them that they are just as passionate about winning was everyone else, and just because they might not be the absolute best, they still tried their best.

Suddenly Jesse's phone rang.

"Hello?" he said groggily.

"Jesse, good morning! Did I wake you?" Quinn said.

"Uhm, not really. Is there any particular reason you're calling me so early?"

"Yeah, my car battery is dead and my parents are already gone. I was hoping maybe you could give me a ride to school?"

"Oh… absolutely." Jesse replied.

"Great, thank you so much. How about we grab some breakfast along the way? You know, as friends.." Quinn said.

"Sure, I'll be there in half an hour." Jesse said and hung up. He quickly hopped out of bed and hit the shower.

Quinn lived between Jesse's apartment and the school, so he could just pick her up along the way. He arrived in front of her house about 31 minutes later. Damn, he loved how precise he usually was.

"Hey!" Quinn said cheerfully as she got into Jesse's blue Honda.

"Hello. Hello, hello." Jesse replied, singing along to the Beatles song that was on the radio at that moment.

"I love this song. I'm so glad we did it for Sectionals." Quinn said.

"Yeah, there's nothing better than the Beatles… So, off for some breakfast? I wanted to talk to you about some of the dance moves. I don't think Puck will be able to keep up with some up the steps we came up with. You know what a bad dancer he is." Jesse said, as they drove off to IHOP.

"Oh, I think that if someone works real hard with him, he'll be ok. We'll put him in the back just in case."

Once they had reached IHOP they had already changed their before thoroughly planned last number. They made their way inside and took a seat. Quinn looked at Jesse and could tell what he was thinking about. Rachel. It would be a lie to say it didn't make her jealous or mad but she was determined to be a good friend for Jesse, if he needed her, she'd be there.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just still a little sleepy. I need some coffee."

"You know, Jesse, it's ok if you want to talk about her. I can take it."

"Talk about who?" Jesse said, taking a sudden interest in the menu.

"You know who. Rachel. I know it might seem a little awkward but I want us to be friends. And friends talk about what's bothering them." Quinn replied.

Their waitress interrupted them. After they ordered, much to Quinn's surprise, Jesse continued the conversation. It seemed he just needed to get it off his chest.

"It's not bothering me. It's killing me, actually. It's driving me crazy, it's so hard not to think about it and her all the time. I'm trying to accept what happened and let it go."

"Well, it hasn't been that long, you just need time. Time heals all wounds."

"So I hear. But until then I don't know what I'll do. I just need to keep myself busy." Jesse said.

Quinn smiled and put her hand on his. "If you're ever not busy, I'm just a phone call away."

Jesse tried to give a sincere smile back. He appreciated Quinn's concern but it wasn't her he wanted to keep him company. But the person he really wanted would never be there for him again. Though in it was nice he had someone to lean on, maybe he could get used to Quinn, she was pretty awesome in her own way. She was no Rachel, but no one could compare to Rachel, she was one of a kind.

* * *

After their encounter with Vocal Adrenaline in the auditorium, New Directions were really put in a funk, except for Jesse and Quinn, strangely. It took Jesse everything in him not to give up, he was way too stubborn for that.

"Jesse and I have come up with a few good ideas, so come on, let's get to it!" Quinn said to the team.

All she heard in reply was a mumble. Suddenly, Jesse's phone rang. It was Rachel. Of course he hadn't deleted her number yet. There wouldn't be much point in that anyway, he knew her number by heart. At the sight of her name flickering on his phone, his heart almost jumped out of his mouth. What did she want from him? He had to pick up, or else it would seem he was afraid or purposefully avoiding her, seeming like a coward. Jesse was also extremely curious as to why she was calling, she had seen him only a few minutes ago.

"Hello?"

"Meet me in the parking lot."

And she hung up. What was going on? Jesse felt a little hopeful; maybe Rachel had changed her mind and wanted him back. Maybe she decided that she really did love him and was ready to take another try. Or maybe she just finally was ready to face him and tell him what happened. Jesse made his way out of the choir room and walked out to the parking lot. There he saw her, standing there, alone. She had changed out of her Gaga costume and to her standard dark blue Vocal Adrenaline costume. She waved at him and gave him a huge smile. Jesse was so relieved to see this, he started to run over to her. He completely forgot about his stubbornness or the hurt she had caused him, if she was standing there, inviting him closer, that was enough for him and he would take what he could. Jesse had already imagined how this would all play out, he would dramatically run over to her, pick her up in his arms and spin her around, then once he'd put her down she'd apologize to him and tell him she loved him and they would kiss and it all would be very romantic and would make for a good movie. Well, ok, maybe a mediocre movie.

As he got closer he realized Rachel's smile turn into a frown, which started to confuse him. He stopped about 10 feet away from Rachel. Suddenly, about 8 other Adreninites came out of nowhere and one by one they started to throw slushies at him. He covered his face with his hands as the shock of the cold goo being poured all over hit him. Jesse St. James had never been so unprepared for something in his life. This by far was to most mortifying experience he had ever had. And the fact that he was being slushied wasn't the fact that hurt the most. It was the fact that Rachel Berry was the one leading this. What had Jesse done to deserve this? Except the fact that he kept his identity a secret for a while, he had never done anything to hurt Rachel or mistreated her or anything of the sort. After Vocal Adrenaline were done with their raid, Jesse took his hands away from his face, sliding them over his head to clear the top of his head from the large amount for slushy that was on it. During this time Rachel had gotten a slushy of her own but it was still full.

"We hear there's nothing you hate more than being slushied, St. James. We just wanted to help you overcome this "fear"." Giselle said sarcastically. Jesse only gave her a slight glance but he mostly was just staring at Rachel with a sad look that simply screamed "Why are you letting them do this to me?" But it was true, there was not much Jesse disliked more than getting a slushy in the face. It was absolutely humiliating, he wouldn't wish that upon anyone. Though right now he might wish it on those who just committed this act of "kindness". Jesse didn't often get slushied, maybe once a month but that still was more than enough. This way mostly because his dad was a teacher and the jocks were in Mr. Schues' class, so they couldn't mess with him that much. Puck and Santana got slushied weekly, the others a bit less. For some reason McKinley jocks thought that was a good way of showing that they're cooler than others.

Then Giselle looked over at Rachel. "Do it, Rachel."

Rachel had the most tortured look on her face. It seemed she might burst into tears any second now. She looked at the slushy, wishing it would just come alive and eat her or something. If there was ever a time Rachel couldn't put on a show face, this was it. Never had she had to try so hard, after all, she's only human, as much as her mother would wish her to be more like a robot. She really didn't want to do this, she already felt so bad for betraying Jesse in the first place. She felt bad about lying to him that she didn't love him. She felt bad for breaking up with him so suddenly. She felt bad that she allowed herself and him to get dragged into this. She just felt pain bad. But she knew that it would be best for Jesse to think she's a soulless bitch, then he would get over her faster. It would be easier if he thought there was no chance of reconciliation, he wouldn't think "what if" as much and he'd move on faster. Rachel had already seen how he had started to move on, which she tried to remember at this moment, hoping it would give her motivation to get on with this.

"Are you with us or not?" Giselle continued. She might have been one of Rachel's best friends but when it came to Vocal Adrenaline, nothing could stand between her and that trophy. And if Rachel couldn't humiliate the other team like usual then she was jeopardizing their whole team. No way could Rachel Berry have really fallen for this guy…could she?

Rachel pulled herself together and understood what she must do, she couldn't chicken out. Damn peer pressure! She slowly walked up to Jesse, holding the slushy tight in her right hand.

"Do it. You've done worse to me." Jesse nodded and looked Rachel right in the eyes. Jesse also understood that she needed to do it, for the team. She was their leader and if she'd back down…well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. Plus, she had already broken his heart, what more could she possibly do to hurt him more. Jesse felt stupid for being so gullible moments before, he should have seen that it was a trap. But he was so hoping it would turn out different that he took the risk and went out to meet Rachel. And now she was about to pour a slushy on him, while looking him in the eyes. Without a word, Rachel stretched up her short hand over his head and let it slowly drip down his face. The worst part was that it was a berry slushy, which took her back to their first date and how they were both covered in berries, maple syrup and egg. Who would have thought it'd come to this? Why was life so unfair? "Sometimes you have to do what you must, not what you want." Shelby would often say.

"_I loved you."_ Rachel thought but couldn't bring herself to say out loud. After that she went on cursing the heavens silently. And then Vocal Adrenaline stepped in their Range Rovers and left, leaving a slushied Jesse St. James all alone in the parking lot, humiliated and heartbroken. That wasn't what he had expected at all.

* * *

Almost instantly the rest of New Directions was running towards him. They had seen the whole thing from inside the school. They were of course spying on Jesse, they noticed he got a suspicious phone call and had vanished outside (actually they noticed mostly because like 2 minutes had gone by without him saying something totally obnoxious), so it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. They had been debating whether they should interfere with what was going on but someone no one really had the guts to actually go and face Vocal Adrenaline, especially after they had just performed in their auditorium and totally blown everyone away. They still hadn't recovered from that.

"What the hell was that?" Quinn exclaimed, handing Jesse a towel she had gotten from who-knows-where.

Great, now Jesse was even more humiliated, now his whole team saw him covered in slushy and had seen him get rejected once again. He didn't speak, there was not much he could say. He just felt as if there wasn't a single thing in the world he could do right now.

"Ok, now that's enough! We HAVE to get them back, and HARD!" Matt said.

"Yeah, Jesse's one of us, we're the only ones allowed to humiliated him." Tina added.

"Oh, we will..." Quinn said with a devilish look on her face.


	11. Play the game of love

New Directions knew there was not much they could do to intimidate Vocal Adrenaline. Mr. Schue had forbidden them to retaliate in some physical way, because 'violence is never the answer'. Vocal Adrenaline could pull off almost anything – pop, show tunes, funk, reggae, jazz…but one thing Rachel Berry was not good at was rock. No matter how she tried, she would never be able to do a good rendition of "I love rock and roll", she would never compare to Joan Jett. And that went for their male lead, Paul, too. He was as queer as a 3 dollar bill, everyone was convinced that he was literally afraid of rock, as if he thought it would eat him alive; it was too vulgar for him or something. So the best shot New Directions had was to show them a little rock and roll, which, as a matter of fact, was Jesse's specialty. He could switch his beautiful, melodic voice to a hard-core, grudgy sounding one, all while still sounding amazing. Yes, that is what they would have to show them. It might not do anything, maybe it'll just make Vocal Adrenaline laugh even more, or maybe it'll make them feel uneasy about their chances at Regionals. Either way, it should drive them crazy to see that New Directions could pull off something they couldn't – they would find that absolutely humiliating. Jesse actually felt quite excited about this, he already had gone through his Queen discography and picked a few songs for the team to listen to and then they would make their final decision. This might be his last chance to see Rachel (except Regionals, of course) and he was going to make the most of it. He had to send her some sort of message, just as she sent him one through Poker Face.

It had been 2 days since the slushy incident and Jesse was still recovering from it. He had nightmares of a giant Rachel Berry picking him up by his tiny legs and dipping him in a huge slushy, while the rest of the Vocal Adrenaline giants stood and laughed. It killed him to see Rachel like this, no, it killed him that he thought of Rachel like this. Whenever he'd start to feel hate toward her, he'd remember the day they met, or their first date, or one of the many perfect moments and kisses their shared. That was the Rachel Berry he loved, and the one he would like to remember. No matter what she'd do, he would still love her, which made him feel like a complete idiot. But he now understood that Rachel had made her decision – she had left and betrayed him. If she did ever feel anything for him, it was gone. You don't slushy someone you love. Jesse would just have to move on and if New Directions lost at Regionals, they will at least do it with dignity and they would try as hard as they could.

"Thanks for coming. After you brazen escalation of our growing dispute, which we were willing to put to rest, we decided that the only way to truly funkify you, was to show you the one thing we know you can't do. So enjoy!" Jesse said to Vocal Adrenaline, as they all sat in the McKinley auditorium with their stupid matching Carmel High School sweatshirts. It's only excusable for sports teams to all wear their school sweaters, but obviously Vocal Adrenaline thought that what they did was so cool it could actually be considered a sport.

Giselle rolled her eyes and looked at Rachel, as if that was the silliest thing she'd ever heard. Rachel obviously didn't look amused. Why couldn't she just get some peace? All she wanted was to never see Jesse St. James again, it was too painful. She was sure he would be the end of her, this was just too much for one person to bear. But she had to go with her team or else they'd realize something was up. Not that they hadn't already noticed how hesitant she was when Jesse was around. Her thoughts quickly, and without permission, went back to the time Saint James was playing at Joe's Joint.

*FLASHBACK*

"Come on, let's do it. It's karaoke night, after all." Jesse nudged Rachel.

"No, this is your night, I wouldn't want to steal the spotlight." Rachel said. And not sarcastically, she was being serious.

"We already played and I really want to do this. Please? Or maybe you're scared? I mean, all these people will be watching and all." Jesse teased. He was actually quite surprised Rachel wasn't all up for it, she usually jumped at the chance to perform in front of an audience. Oh, wait, no…That was Jesse. Though Rachel wasn't much better when it came to that.

"St. James, don't start with that. Fine, one song." Rachel gave in.

Jesse gave a huge smile and pulled her on stage.

"What should we sing?" he asked, as they were skimming through the options. "This one?"

"I don't know, it's pretty cheesy." Rachel gave him a skeptical look.

"No way, it's awesome!"

Rachel giggled as the piano music started. Only Jesse and Rachel would chose such a song, and actually sing it in public. AND sound amazing while doing so.

Rachel started singing, but she didn't seem overly confident.  
_Hello twelve,_

Jesse added his sweet voice, still with a huge smile on his face. At times he was so goofy yet absolutely adorable. He was staring deeply in Rachel's' eyes, hoping she would get lost in them and start performing the way she ought to.  
_Hello thirteen,  
Hello love._

_Changes, oh!  
Down below.  
Up above._

_Time to doubt,_

As the music changed, Jesse started dancing and tried to loosen Rachel up, too. _  
To break out,  
It's a mess,  
It's a mess._

_Time to grow.  
Time to go.  
Adolesce. _

_Too young to take over,  
Too old to ignore,  
_Jesse kept his eyes on Rachel the whole time. This would probably make most people uncomfortable but Rachel found it calming, it made her feel safe for some reason. Jesse could tell that Rachel was finally comfortable with this song and was about to get into it for real.

_Gee, I'm almost ready,  
But...what...for? _

_There's a lot I am not certain of.  
Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love!_

By this part Rachel was dancing all over the stage, as if she was in a musical herself. Rachel always gave a perfect performance, and she gave it her all. This was no exception. Yes, it was a karaoke bar and she was performing with Jesse in front of a couple of tipsy people, but who cares? She was enjoying herself. It was incredible how great the chemistry between her and Jesse was, it was as if they were born for the stage, and also born to perform together.

*END FLASHBACK*

This wasn't the same Jesse Rachel had sung with that night. This was a different person, which made sense, naturally. Jesse gave Vocal Adrenaline a mean look and took his position on stage. New Directions looked very rocker chic. Mercedes helped with the costumes – she had an everyday rocker style. The guys had black pants, black T's with bright red shoes and red studded belts, while the girls were sporting cute little leather boots, fluffy black and red skirts, black leggings and leather vests. It looked like they were about to perform "Highway to Hell" or something very edgy and crazy, they looked fantastic.

The bass music started and the guys and girls of New Directions started dancing, as Jesse took the lead vocals.

_Ooh, let's go! _

_Steve walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low  
Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go.  
Are you ready, hey! Are you ready for this?  
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?  
Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat.  
_

The rest of New Directions joined in. It was incredible how Jesse could perform this song with such charisma; it really had you at the edge of your seat. You could tell that they had really worked on their choreography, though it wasn't great, it was admirable and much better than the usual steps they did. Jesse wasn't the best dancer on earth but he sure could bust a move when it was necessary. There was plenty of Quinn-flipping to get Rachel's blood boiling.

_Another one bites the dust!  
Another one bites the dust!  
And another one gone, and another one gone  
Another one bites the dust!  
Hey, I'm gonna get you, too.  
Another one bites the dust!_

This probably wasn't the most rock'n'roll song they could do, but it was good enough. It was also one of Jesse's favorite songs of all time and he simply nailed it. If nobody knew that it was originally a Queen song, they'd say this was written especially for him to perform, because he sounded freaking awesome. Also, this song pretty much summed up what he wanted to say to Rachel, in return to Poker Face. Plus, Vocal Adrenaline knew that New Directions could pull off a rock number, they had seen it before but seeing it again, and in such an 'in-your-face' way – it made them furious. 

_How do you think I'm going to get along,  
Without you, when you're gone?  
You took me for everything that I had,  
And kicked me out on my own!  
_

It wasn't hard for Jesse to get into this song, it was basically how he felt and there was no denying it.

_Are you happy, are you satisfied?  
How long can you stand the heat?  
Out of the doorway the bullets rip  
To the sound of the beat _

Rachel started to feel awfully uncomfortable. Never had a performance seemed so long as right – it must have been like 15 minutes already. Right? Not really, but it sure seemed like forever. She kept wondering how long she could keep up this game with Jesse, but she knew that in the end no one would truly win. She had lost Jesse, and he was what she really wanted.

"_No, no, no, stop. I want to be a star. See 'Rachel Berry' in lights on Broadway, receive a standing ovation on my opening night, see my face on a big poster in the middle of Time's Square, read great reviews about my performance in all the big newspapers. Yeah, that's more like it." _Rachel got herself back on track.

Suddenly, New Directions threw in a curveball, turning this song into a Queen mash-up of "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Play the Game".

_This is your life - don't play hard to get  
It's a free free world all you have to do is fall in love  
Play the game, yeah, play the game of love!  
_

_My game of love has just begun  
Another one bites the dust! _

_My love is pumping through my veins_ _  
Another one bites the dust! _

_Play the game play the game play the game play the game!_

What the hell? What was Jesse trying to tell Rachel? She couldn't quite tell if it was meant as a good or bad gesture. But the word 'love' made her skin tingle, her heart beat just a little bit faster, her mouth feel dry. And the word 'game' made her feel disgusted with herself. Yes, she had tried to make Jesse think she had been playing a game all along. What kind of person does that? Someone who's willing to do anything to break into the business – that's who. Rachel maybe still cared for Jesse but what she really wanted was just for her mother to finally be proud of her. If only she would appreciate how hard Rachel worked to make her happy, just for one moment - that would make Rachel's day. Damn those parents, children are usually screwed up because of them.

_There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man  
And bring him to the ground  
You can beat him, you can cheat him  
You can treat him bad and leave him  
When he's down!_

At this moment Jesse St. James didn't look like a mere high school student performing with this little glee club. He looked like a professional star, like someone who completely owned that stage. No way could you get more real emotions from anyone on stage – this was pure truth radiating from him. But there still was a hint of proudness, Jesse was feeling pretty damn good about this performance, it was going perfectly, no one really messed up the steps, the lighting was good and they all sounded fantastic. His confidence was at an all-time high as he continued to the last part of the song. 

_But I'm ready, yes I'm ready for you  
I'm standing on my own two feet  
Out of the doorway the bullets rip  
Repeating the sound of the beat _

_It's a free free world all you have to do is fall in love  
Play the game - ev'rybody play the game of love..._

Jesse finished their song, knowing he had gotten under Rachel's skin. Yes, he was ready for her, he was ready to face her at Regionals and not show how crushed he was about her leaving him. He was determined to win Regionals, or at least work his ass off to lose with dignity.

"See you punks at Regionals" Kurt smirked, as they all made their way off the stage, leaving Vocal Adrenaline sitting in their auditorium. And it looked like they couldn't move even if they wanted to.

"They did a rock number. We've never been able to pull off a rock number." Paul turned to Rachel and said.

Rachel didn't even look back at him. All she could reply was "I'm so depressed."

* * *

_So I think the next chapter might be the last one. I've been so busy and I feel this is all just coming to an end. Let me know what you think and what you want to see at Regionals, thanks again ;) _


	12. Stars will be stars

Ok, soooo… This isn't the last chapter after all. It's kind of short but I'm going away until Tuesday and I just wanted to make this quick update, because can't promise the final chapter before Thursday. Anyway, hope you have a nice weekend and thanks for the lovely reviews, I'm still amazed that someone reads the St. Berry fantasies I just write down :D

* * *

Rachel was sitting in her room, on her bed, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, sipping on water and snacking on chips (which Rachel Berry never does, so this meant she really was feeling depressed), while watching old videos of her performances, trying to get herself into game-shape. Of course, Rachel had a video of every performance she'd ever given. One day those tapes would cost a lot of money, ET would be calling, wanting to purchase them so they could share it with the whole world. And watching herself usually got her feeling confident, plus she could examine every little detail she did and correct a mistake or improve something. Rachel could evaluate her performance, later tweeking it to perfection, which it almost always was, she had to admit.

Rachel had just finished watching her 2006 talent show, where she sang "Defying Gravity" from Wicked, one of her favorite musicals. Little Rachel Berry was still amazing for her age, the 12 year old had a voice that impressed the judges and scared the other contestants shitless. The next performance up was one from a 2008 local singing competition, where she came in 1st place, naturally. The song she was singing was "Taking Chances" by one of her idols, Celine Dion.

_Don't know much about your life.  
Don't know much about your world, but  
Don't want to be alone tonight,  
On this planet they call earth._

_But what do you say to taking chances,  
What do you say to jumping off the edge?  
Never knowing if there's solid ground below  
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,  
What do you say,  
What do you say?_

Rachel started tearing up as she was watching a younger version of herself sing something she truly believed in. Her performance seemed so true, so genuine, she was actually enjoying what she was doing. She once was so hopeful, so willing to take chances. What happened to this young dreamer? She always had dreamed of meeting someone like Jesse, someone who would make her want to take chances, someone who could make her get excited about the littlest things. And why did nowadays everything seem to remind her of Jesse? Every song she heard, every movie she watched, random things people said got linked to him for some reason.

_I just want to start again,  
And maybe you could show me how to try,_  
_And maybe you could take me in,  
Somewhere underneath your skin?_

_What do you say to taking chances,  
What do you say to jumping off the edge?  
_

Unwillingly, Rachel's tears started to slowly come down her cheeks. What had become of her and why was she so miserable? She had her whole future ahead of her, and a bright one, too. She was about to win her first Regional Championship, leading her on to Nationals. She had people from Julliard schmoozing her to come to their school. Everything was simply perfect. But there was little to no excitement in it, Rachel, being the drama queen that she was, wanted something more to risk. She liked a good challenge.

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below  
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,  
What do you say,  
What do you say?_

While Rachel was crying and getting lost in her thoughts and dreams, Shelby was passing her room and sensed that something wasn't right. She opened Rachel's door, only to see her daughter sitting on her bed, crying and watching old videos.

"Honey, what's wrong?" She quickly ran over and sat next to Rachel on her bed.

A startled Rachel looked up at her mom and wiped her tears. "Nothing. I'm just, uhh, getting ready for the competition."

Shelby raised one eyebrow skeptically "Rachel, dear, stop embarrassing yourself. What's really bothering you?"

"I just never knew that a broken heart could feel so very dreadful." Rachel finally admitted after taking a small pause.

"Oh, baby, come here," Shelby sighed took a sobbing Rachel in her arms, cuddling her, "I know how you feel, really."

"You do?"

"Of course. Why do you think I've been trying to prevent this from happening to you for so long? You know, my first love was in high school, too. Ricky Andrews…" Shelby smirked, as her mind drifted off in memories of high school.

"How come I've never heard about that?" Rachel asked. What she really wanted to ask was "why the hell have we never had this kind of talk before?" since she was a little surprised her mother was being so soft with her right now.

"Because it's an unpleasant memory. We were so in love…or at least I thought we were. We were perfect for each other, it was like a match made in heaven, both being young, ambitious and talented. My mother kept warning me that he seemed like trouble, which he ended up being. He broke my heart and left me because some boy band asked him to join them in LA. And since then I decided that I wouldn't let myself be heartbroken again, it was too painful. So I devoted myself to my work and was determined to make it big so I could eventually rub it in Ricky's face."

"What happened to him?"

"I honestly don't know, haven't seen him since. I'm guessing that means he didn't really become a superstar." Shelby chuckled.

Rachel didn't laugh but she gave a forced smile.

"I know it seems like it's too much to bear and it's hard a hell but just take it day by day – eventually you'll be yourself again. Look at that girl," Shelby pointed at the TV, where the judges were presenting Rachel with a trophy for 1st place, "she's a star and she knows that she's going to really shine one day. She won't let some boy or anybody bring her down."

Rachel finally had a sincere smile on her face.

"Now come on, we have practice in an hour, and I have some inside information about the judges." Shelby said, as she got up and left.

Rachel realized that her mom wasn't really that bad, she was just trying to protect her from making the same mistakes she did. She really admired her mother's determination, and that was what gave her that little nudge to get up and get ready for practice. She turned off the TV and took a look at her trophy shelf and smiled. Rachel Berry would shine one day, big and bright.

* * *

Jesse was sitting alone in the McKinley choir room after glee practice, playing the piano. He needed to clear his head, it was full of thoughts about Regionals, school, his teammates, Saint James and worst of all, Rachel Berry. He was already getting tired of thinking of her, of dreaming that they could get back together and act as if all of this never ever happened. He was sick of wishing that it was Rachel singing in glee club with him, not Quinn. Singing with Rachel now had completely ruined singing with anybody else ever again, no way would the chemistry be there and no way would anybody's voice sound as good as hers did together with his. And it was her own fault that she let him in so far, he was a part of her now, whether they liked it or not. He could trigger a part of Rachel Berry that no one else could, and vice versa.

Jesse had unconsciously started playing "Hello", when he was interrupted by 3 Vocal Adreninites – Giselle, Paul and some other girl that he recognized but had no clue what her name was.

"Hey, St. James! We need to talk." Giselle said, as she skimmed the room, as if she was expecting some kind of pig to start running free or something, it was clear she was trying to make herself look as if she found this place horrendous and thought she would get swine flu.

"What are you guys doing here? Aren't you trespassing? And what could you possibly have to say to me?" Jesse replied.

"Listen, if you think you still have some kind of shot with Rachel, forget it." Paul said.

"And why is that?"

"I really can't understand how you still don't get it. SHE WAS PLAYING YOU! It meant nothing, and now we all laugh about it in practices. She tells us your lame little stories and it's absolutely hilarious. So stop drooling over her and accept that you got owned." Giselle said and the three of them turned around and headed off.

Jesse just continued sitting by the piano, he didn't even do them the courtesy of getting up, and also, he was a bit baffled.

"Oh, and say hi to your Care Bear collection for me." Giselle gave a last remark and they were out the door.

Ouch, that hurt. No, really. And not just the Care Bear part. Sure, it had hurt when Rachel said it herself, but now she had her teammates do it for her, too? Was she really that determined to get him out of her life? Jesse suddenly felt so stupid for even thinking that they might be able to work things out, because there was nothing _to_ work out. Rachel had been using him and now, finally, he had confirmation of that – Vocal Adrenaline had been behind it all along.

What Jesse didn't know was that they actually hadn't been behind it at all. Shelby had sent Giselle, Paul and that other girl, who no one even bothers to call by her name, to McKinley High to speak to Jesse. Shelby was feeling a little anxious about this whole situation – she couldn't afford having Jesse ruin Regionals with some romantic gesture to get Rachel back. The three of them really weren't sure why they had to do it, but they did agree with Shelby that something was wrong with Rachel, she just seemed off her game and they could have none of that, especially now, right before Regionals.

"Jesse, sorry for taking so long. You ready to go?" Mr. Schue said, as he came in the choir room, ready to go home. Once he saw the look on Jesse's face he continued questioning him, "Hey, everything alright?"

"Uhh… Yeah. I was just having an epiphany. People really are ruthless when it comes to winning, sometimes."

"Are you talking about our team or a certain brunette from Vocal Adrenaline?"

"No, I don't think anyone on our team could ever be that cruel. Ok, if anyone, then maybe Tina. But even she has a heart deep, _deep _down."

"Well, you know son, that's what the world is like. Somehow some people have come to the conclusion that success is everything and they don't care who they have to crush to get it. All we can do is play fair and hope for the best. What good is it making it to the top if you don't have a clear conscience?"

Jesse didn't reply but it was clear that he was lost in thinking about this. He did agree, though he usually said that aside from nudity and cruelty towards animals, he was willing to do anything to break into the business. But now he realized that this wasn't true, he could never use someone so terribly, if he were to win, he would win fair.

"What Rachel did was wrong, I'm sure she knows it, too. But I don't want you to try and get revenge on her, take the high road. Show her she missed out on a good thing and leave it at that." Will Schuester remarked, before turning to the door.

Jesse agreed and they both went home, with Regionals only 42 hours away. What Mr. Schuester didn't know was that Jesse had decided that he would personally confront Rachel one last time.


	13. Backstage drama

Sorry for the wait, guys, I was just soo busy and I wanted to write this somewhat properly and not in a hurry. And it looks like it might turn out to be a two-parter. Therefore making it 2 chapters ;) It's pretty intense and dramatic, as it should be, lol. Thank you for reviewing!

* * *

**REGIONALS PART I**

The day that New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline had been waiting for had finally come- Regionals. The bus ride there had been surprisingly calm and quiet, except for the occasional chatter between Tina, Kurt and Brittany. Jesse spent most of the trip staring out his window into the rainy fields of Ohio. Quinn was sitting next to him, trying to keep up a conversation but failing, as Jesse mostly gave her one-word answers. He hadn't seen Rachel since the whole Funkification fiasco. Many times had he contemplated going over to Rachel's house and giving her a piece of his mind but something kept pulling him back and he wasn't quite sure what it was. Jesse was no longer in denial – he had finally accepted what had happened and was going to deal with it accordingly; he just needed a final confirmation.

New Directions got ready in their dressing room. The guys were in all black clothing with golden ties and the girls were in golden dresses (which at first seemed like a great idea but in the end it kind of looked like they were wearing something resembling a spacesuit.) with headbands in a golden tone that didn't even go with the dress. But they all still looked amazing as they sat in the dressing room, listening to the first group, Aural Intensity, perform. They were doing a crazy Bohemian Rhapsody number, which made Jesse quite jealous and angry, mostly because he should have thought of that himself - he would totally rock that song.

"Bohemian Rhapsody? Are you kidding me? Somebody tipped them off about the judges!" Puck yelled in fury. He rarely got roweled up but being in Glee was important to him and he really, really wanted to win this one. Aural Intensity must have somehow known that Rod Remington would be one of the judges – he always goes on about how he and Freddy were such great friends and his favorite song is Bohemian Rhapsody.

"Guys, we can't get distracted by what the other teams are doing!" Santana tried to calm him down. She too was feeling a bit uneasy about their song choice but it would be alright, there were still 3 other judges.

"We just gotta keep our heads in the game and focus." Quinn added.

"Even though we know we can't win?" Jesse asked. Almost everyone in the room was stunned by this. Jesse was always the driving force of the group and now he was the one doubting them. Nobody knew what to reply, because, honestly, what can you reply when your leader loses hope?

"Yes," Mr. Schue stepped in and turned down the speaker, "if this is only about winning then I owe you all an apology, because I failed you. And we should just all go home, because it means we've already lost. And besides, we have got something that the other groups don't."

"What?" Artie asked, as they all looked extremely curious.

"Matt's dancing!" He laughed and was responded to with a laugh. Matt looked confused because he really wasn't a good dancer and couldn't understand how that could possibly help them. But since everyone else was laughing he figured that there probably was a way.

"Now come on, we've only got 20 minutes, pull yourselves together!" Will said as they all started getting psyched up.

* * *

Jesse quickly stormed out of the room, saying he'll be right back and he had to go the bathroom before they perform. He was actually going to find Rachel Berry, there was something he needed to tell her and he wanted to get it done before hand so that he could have a clear head during the performance. And yet again it seemed the stars were on his side, for when he turned to corner he saw Rachel pacing through the empty hallway outside of Vocal Adrenaline's dressing room, which was right across the hall from the backstage entrance. He would recognize that petite body anywhere and in any clothing, though now she was in a black and hot pink shimmery outfit. Bohemian Rhapsody was fairly audible in the background, as they were just starting the second half of the song. He could hear the piano solo and knew what was coming up next, his favorite line.

"_Scaramouch, Scaramouch will you do the fandango?"_

"I've come to congratulate you." Jesse said as he approached Rachel from behind.

Rachel jerked up and turned around in surprise. Of course she recognized that voice and she willed herself not to turn around but she didn't have much of a choice.

"_Very, very frightening me!"_

"You shouldn't be here, Jesse. Just leave." She said hesitantly, avoiding eye contact. She tried to make her way back in the dressing room or wherever she could go, she just needed to get away from Jesse.

But of course Jesse St. James didn't go or let her go, either. He grabbed her arm and turned her toward him.

"_I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me."_

"You made me believe you loved me. I should applaud you." Jesse said in a scorned voice, a hint of disgust in it. People often make the misconception that only girls are utterly heartbroken over a breakup, when really girls sometimes tend to be the biggest heartbreakers. If a girl plays her cards right, it's not hard to get her hooks into you and then just chew you up, lovesick puppy that you are. And Rachel Berry had obviously been queen of this game and he owed it to her, as a professional, to show some respect and congratulate her on a job well done.

"Jesse, don't… Just leave." Rachel said, trying to break away from his grip. Jesse couldn't see clearly but he was pretty sure he saw tears in her eyes.

"If it wasn't real, then why are you so afraid of confronting me? That's not the Rachel I fell in love with, so maybe I don't love you, either. Maybe you're just a coward who's too terrified to stand up for herself!" Jesse said, practically yelling, as the music became louder.

Rachel moaned a "no" in synch with the song, as she still tried to get away from Jesse.

"If you're such a talented performer, at least have to decency to look your audience in the eyes!"

"Let me go!" she demanded but unsuccessfully.

"_Bismillah! No! We will not let you go!" _

"Tell me you don't love me!" Jesse begged, as if he'd get satisfaction out of hearing her say it.

"Jesse, go away!" Rachel yelled as the struggle deepened.

"If it's true then say it!" Jesse didn't know what was happening, it was like a demon inside him had taken over and there was nothing he could do about it. His emotions overtook him and they were determined to get a straight answer out of Rachel, no matter what. Sure, she had told him before but he didn't believe it, he wanted it to sound more convincing and now he had caught her off guard and he was hoping that whatever her answer was, it would be true. But now she was just running away from him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"_No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"_

"You're a coward."

"Mama!" Rachel gasped, as her mother opened the door in front of them.

"_Mama Mia, Mama Mia, Mama Mia let me go!"_

All of Vocal Adrenaline looked over at the open door, to see a frozen Jesse and Rachel staring back at them.

"What, in God's name, is going on? Get your hands off my daughter!" Shelby demanded.

Jesse let Rachel go and looked at her as she also finally looked him in the eyes with such a miserable expression on her face that anyone else in the world would feel sorry for her, except for the person she used and destroyed. Her make-up was ruined and her hair was all messed up, she looked in no shape to perform.

"_So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?"_

"Go on and run back to your team. I've said what I wanted to say." Jesse spat out.

"_So you think you can love me and leave me to die?"_

"You showed me what I needed to see. And you are nothing to me." He gave his final remark, barely keeping himself together, as he was tearing up. Then he turned away and went back the way he came, his look still piercing though Rachel's heart like a knife.

"_Ohh, baby, can't do this to me baby. Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here_._"_

_

* * *

_

For some reason Jesse felt better, which seems quite odd considering the extreme intensity of his last encounter with Rachel, but it felt somewhat like closure. True, he may have been a little harsh but how can you possibly act differently to someone who's used you like that? It was nothing worse than she had done to him. Though he still felt terribly heartbroken, at least now he felt relieved. Yet deep down he wondered if he'd ever meet someone as amazing as Rachel Berry again, and if someone would ever make him as happy as she did…or _truly _happy.

"Hey!" Quinn yelled as she was coming towards Jesse, she obviously had come to find him, "What took you so long? Aural Intensity just finished and we have to go on in a couple of minutes!"

"Uhh…Sorry. I had some business to attend to." Jesse said distractedly.

"Business? Today? What else could possibly be as more important than this? Listen, we had a chance at keeping it together in the dressing room until you decided to bail. You're our leader, Jesse! The way you're on everyone all the time is annoying but it also keeps the club motivated. You and I are gonna fix this. We're going out there and we are gonna win this thing!" Quinn insisted. That was just was Jesse needed to hear, a good pep talk. He took a moment to think.

"You're right," he smiled and took her hand leading her to the doors of the auditorium, "Let's go show them how it's done!"

* * *

Jesse straightened his tie and sighed, as he stared at the door in front of him. Beyond those doors lay his destiny. Ok, not really, but the Regionals judges, which included Olivia Newton-John and Josh Groban were out there, which was a pretty big deal. He looked over to his left to see Quinn standing in front of the other entrance, playing with her hair. She turned to him and smiled a smile that had "NERVOUS" written all over it. Jesse smiled and winked at her as he heard the announcer start to introduce them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our 2nd competitors, winners of the Central Ohio Sectionals – McKinley High's New Directions!"

This was it. The piano started playing and Jesse's eyes broke away from Quinn's gaze and opened the door, entering the auditorium, filling it with his soft voice.

_Highway run into the midnight sun  
Wheels go round and round you're on my mind  
_

Quinn entered and took over the song, going down the other aisle, catching up with Jesse.

_Restless hearts sleep alone tonight  
Sending all my love along the wire_

Jesse joined in, as they were standing face to face yet 20 feet away.

_They say that the road  
ain't no place to start a family  
Right down the line it's been you and me_

They started walking toward each other, singing their hearts out.

_And loving a music man  
Ain't always what it's supposed to be_

As they past one another, contently staring in one another's eyes, Quinn sang a solo line before Jesse joined her once again.

_Oh, boy you stand by me_

_I'm forever yours, faithfully._

There was no doubt these two had great chemistry; everyone was in awe as they thought these two performers were like a match made in heaven. Everyone, except the one person watching who knew better – Rachel Berry. She had slipped in right after the lights went out and was standing in the corner, she had to see this, even if it meant it would break her heart once again. She saw how Quinn was looking at Jesse – like a love-struck teenage girl, who was mesmerized by this stunning boy. Rachel completely understood why. What she couldn't understand was how Jesse could look at Quinn the way he was. She really wasn't even that amazing, Rachel knew she would knock the ball out of the park if she were the one singing this song, especially with Jesse.

_And being a part ain't easy on this love affair  
Two strangers learn to fall in love again  
I get the joy of rediscovering you  
_

Jesse was really getting into this song and he sounded amazing. It actually was a brilliant idea to take this song and make it into a duet. He had practiced this with Quinn a dozen times but this seemed to be the best they've sounded together. For some strange reason, as he was looking at Quinn, whether he liked it or not, he imagined Rachel in her place. He even pictured her in that golden dress with a golden headband. How she would belt out notes that most of the people in the audience probably didn't even know existed. How they would sound completely spectacular together, and together they would also crush any competition in their way. But no, she already had done that. Jesse snapped out of it and looked at Quinn. Yes, these words were truer about her than anyone else, she was the one who has stood by him through thick and thin. He didn't love her but he sure valued her friendship, and he would be there for her whenever she needed.

_Oh, girl you stand by me  
I'm forever yours faithfully  
_

Rachel couldn't deny that it hurt. It hurt the way the boy she actually did still love sang about how he's faithful to another girl. It hurt the way he looked so happy with her. It hurt the way they were totally rocking this song. She couldn't help the few small tears that ran down her cheek.

The curtain rose, as the rest of New Directions appeared on the stage and Jesse overpowered the whole choir with his strong voice.

_Ooooooh ooooooooh ooooooh faithfully  
faithfully... I'm still yours!  
Ooooooh ooooooooh ... I'm still yours  
Ooooooh ooooooooh ...I'm still yours!_

The music stopped and Jesse and Quinn faced each other to sing the final line.

_Faithfully._

_

* * *

_I know it's a terrible place to end but I'm just mean like that :) _  
_


	14. A change of heart

Since Glee was just on TV, right after watching "Bad Reputation" I felt like I had to finish this and post it. Yes, I'm sad to announce this, but this is indeed the last chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

The audience applauded as Jesse took Quinn's hand and led her to the rest of the group, were they started to perform a mash up of "Any Way You Want It" and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'". The moves were fairly simple, New Directions were better when they were loose. Their mash up positively screamed GLEE as the crowd started to get up and dance along with the choir, clapping their hands and obviously enjoying it. And New Directions were enjoying it as well.

_Cause he's lovin', touchin', squeezin' another! _

These words really hit home for Rachel, especially when Quinn was singing them. She kept watching with envy from the behind of the auditorium. She was envious not because they were so good but that she could see that each and every one of them was having the time of their lives. They were jumping up and down and around the stage, clapping their hands and dancing however they wanted during dance breaks. That was what show choir was truly about, having fun and expressing yourself, doing what you love and being oblivious to all the negative stuff around you, and New Directions was showing that to everyone in the audience and it seemed they were embracing it.

Then the music stopped as they all turned their backs against the roaring audience. On by one they turned around as they started to sing "Don't Stop Believing" and Jesse took the solo, breaking away from the pack.

_Just a small town girl living in a lonely world _

_She took the midnight train going anywhere _

Then Quinn came up next to Jesse and sang.

_Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit  
He took the midnight train going anywhere_

They both went back into the group as Puck and Santana came out for their solos.

_A singer in a smoky room  
The smell of wine and cheap perfume  
For a smile they can share the night _

_It goes on and on and on and on.  
_

The crowd was completely moved by this song, they were loving every minute of this, rarely do you see such an inspiring performance.

_Strangers waiting  
Up and down the boulevard  
Their shadows searching in the night  
Streetlight people  
Living just to find emotion  
Hiding somewhere in the night_

_Don't stop believin'  
Hold on to that feelin'  
Streetlight people!_

Yet again New Directions was jumping around on stage, getting the audience pumped up, singing their hearts out. Mercedes was belting out over the rest and everything sounded amazing, if they voices could literally raise things, the roof would have already been gone.

* * *

When New Directions were done and were enjoying their applause, Rachel ran out of the auditorium, fighting back tears. Why the hell was this so hard? She was Rachel freaking Berry, star of Vocal Adrenaline. But in fact, the real Rachel Berry was just a regular teenage girl, who wanted to be in love with a boy and longed for her mother's approval, it was as simple as that. Being the star of Vocal Adrenaline didn't make her invincible, as much as everyone else in the team thought it did.

"Excuse me, but is everything alright?" she heard a voice coming from her left and turned to see an unfamiliar face but it looked sincere and caring.

Rachel looked back at the floor and shook her head, desperately trying to keep it together.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" Emma asked, now truly worrying about this mysterious and obviously lost young girl. She had come out of the auditorium to pick up a phone call and saw someone who looked in need of some comfort.

"It's just… my heart and my mind are at war and I'm in the middle of it and it's completely excruciating."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I have to decide between what I want and what my mother thinks is best for me. But it's so hard to please everyone else. Is love always so painful?" Rachel opened up to this stranger. Sometimes opening up to a complete stranger is much easier than opening up to someone who's close to you.

"Well, I know nothing about this situation, but I'm sure your mother only has your best interests in mind. However, if it's making you so miserable I'd say do as your heart tells you. It's your life and you should be in control of it. And love does do strange things to people but if you ask me, it's the greatest thing in the world." Emma smiled, as the put her hand gently on Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel smiled, but suddenly being interrupted by Giselle, who was yelling from the hallway.

"Hey, Rachel, come on, we're up!"

"I'm sorry but I have to go. Thank you." She said before running off backstage.

"_Rachel? As in Rachel Berry?" _Emma thought to herself. Of course, she should have put the pieces together earlier. She suddenly realized what was happening - Rachel _was _in love with Jesse but her mother was forbidding her to be with him, it all made perfect sense now. _"Well that certainly was a major development…"_ If only she could get a hold of Jesse.

* * *

Jesse was busy high-fiving his teammates as they were running back to their dressing room, all on cloud nine and feeling good about their chances of winning.

"Jesse!" Emma called just as they were passing her.

"Yeah?" He stopped and looked at her.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble but I just had an interesting conversation with Rachel Berry."

"You what?" Jesse asked in shock, his smile fading from his face. "How? You don't even know her."

"Exactly, which is why she opened up to me about how her mother is the one keeping you two apart. She loves you, Jesse; she just doesn't have the guts to stand up to her mother."

Jesse was speechless. Why was this happening right now, right when he had just accepted the fact that she didn't love him and had had one of the best performances ever? Because she was Rachel Berry, that's why, drama always had a way of finding her, whether she liked it or not.

"Oh… well. I don't know what to say. Thank you for telling me this, Emma." Jesse said, as he quickly headed back to the auditorium to watch Vocal Adrenaline's performance.

* * *

Vocal Adrenaline took their places on the stage as the piano music started as Paul and Rachel took the lead vocals.

_(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round  
(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears  
(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes_

_(Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart  
(Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart  
_

Vocal Adrenaline started singing background vocals, as they all were dancing, resembling more ballet dancing than regular show choir dancing. Everyone was surprised about their song choice but they also all agreed that it was much better when a female sang it, and Rachel was incredible, it was as if this song was meant for her. Little did they know how true that actually was. Vocal Adrenaline had chosen this song a couple of months ago, and then it really didn't mean anything more to Rachel than just being a fantastic song to sing at Regionals. Shelby liked impressing people by taking old, forgotten songs that have a bad reputation and showing everyone that they could revive it and make it great again, thus also showing how amazing Vocal Adrenaline was by pulling such a thing off. But now, after everything that had happened, Rachel felt a much bigger connection with this song than she ever thought she would.

_And I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever  
And if you only hold me tight We'll be holding on forever  
And we'll only be making it right 'cause we'll never be wrong  
Together we can take it to the end of the line  
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (all of the time) _

Just as Paul was lifting Rachel up and spinning her around, she caught a glimpse of familiar bright eyes in the back of the auditorium. She wished she hadn't seen them, but some things you can't un-see. She had been doing a fantastic job of pulling herself together for the performance and thought she might make it through. But the words of the redhead she met a few minutes before kept echoing in her head _"__However, if it's making you so miserable I'd say do as your heart tells you. It's your life and you should be in control of it."_

_I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark  
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks  
I really need you tonight, forever's gonna start tonight  
Forever's gonna start tonight _

Paul put her back on the ground, where she danced alone around the stage, glancing back at Jesse as much as she could. She had a pathological fear that he would turn around and leave and she would never see him again. She couldn't live like that, she just realized. _"Love does do strange things to people but it's the greatest thing in the world."_ She stopped and looked at Jesse as she sang.

_Once upon a time I was falling in love, but now I'm only falling apart  
There's nothing I can do... a total eclipse of the heart  
Once upon a time there was light in my life, but now there's only love in the dark  
Nothing I can say... a total eclipse of the heart_

_(Turn around) bright eyes, Every now and then I fall apart  
(Turn around) bright eyes, Every now and then I fall apart  
_

Then she went back to dancing with her group, as most of the girls were flying through the air and the guys were throwing and catching them.

As Jesse was watching their performance, he was feeling so many feelings it was almost impossible to name them all. But during this song he had concluded that Rachel had made her choice, she even looked at him as she sang "There's nothing I can do, total eclipse of the heart" – she maybe still loved him but it seemed she loved winning just a little more. As a fellow star in the making he should understand that but as the boy who's heart she broke he just couldn't see past this. Rachel would win Vocal Adrenaline another championship and go on to be a huge star, and probably forget all about Jesse once she's a Broadway star. He should let her live her life and fulfill her dreams, make her mother proud – she truly is one of the most talented people he had ever met.

_Once upon a time I was falling in love  
But now I'm only falling apart  
Nothing I can say  
A total eclipse of the heart  
A total eclipse of the heart_

As they finished the crowd stood up and applauded, that certainly was a whole new level of show choir performances, it was near perfect. Rachel didn't notice the standing ovation; she had her teary eyes fixed on Jesse, who also looked like he was about to burst into tears and leave. As the applauding died out a little, Jesse gave Rachel a final look and turned around and headed for the door, which was only a few feet away. He was walking out of Rachel's life forever and she felt a panic attack coming on as the phrase "_Do what your heart tells you!"_ was practically audibly screaming in her head. Vocal Adrenaline took their positions for the next song but Rachel was still standing there, center stage, facing Jesse, who was almost at the door. She had to do something, and quick. Then it came to her – the perfect plan, which suited them honestly couldn't take another second of this heartbreak, so she just let go and followed her heart. As the audience went silence and she could hear angry whispers of demand from her teammates, she started singing, sounding completely terrified, because she really wasn't sure what would happen next but she was willing to take that risk.

_Never knew I could feel like this _

_It's like I've never seen the sky before _

_Want to vanish inside your kiss _

_Every day I'm lovin' you more and more._

Jesse stopped and turned around once he realized that wasn't what Vocal Adrenaline's next song was. He had seen that Rachel had chosen Vocal Adrenaline over him and he couldn't take it anymore and chose to leave. But when Rachel started singing he looked back at her in confusion. Suddenly the memory of their first date came back at the sound of that song.

The band was completely confused by what was going on but Shelby was quietly ordering them to go with the flow, she was in complete shock but didn't know what else to do, she couldn't just march up there and drag Rachel off the stage. So the band tried to improvise and play along with Rachel, so that it didn't seem that she just simply singing a capella. Rachel continued singing with a pleading look on her face.

_Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing? _

_Come back to me and forgi-i-ive everything._

_Seasons may change – winter to spring. _

_But I love you. Till the end…of…time. _

Once Jesse heard Rachel sing that, his heart just melted. She was choosing him and most importantly, she loved him. He couldn't believe what Rachel was doing - she was actually ruining her Regionals performance just to tell him she loved him. She was jeopardizing everything she had worked so hard for, and her mother would be furious. In a flash he had forgotten about all the hurt Rachel had caused him – the slushy in his face, the deceit… All that mattered at this moment was that she was finally doing what they both had felt in their hearts was true and right.

There was dead silence in the auditorium and the audience was starting to get confused as to what in the hell was going on. Jesse knew he had to save the situation, and he knew exactly how the story was supposed to geo, so he started belting out from the back of the auditorium, making his way up to the stage.

_Come what may…_

Everyone turned around to see look at Jesse but he didn't even flinch, he kept staring at Rachel and walking toward her.

_Come what may…_

Rachel sighed and smiled in relief as she joined him in song and the band became louder as they got the feel of things.

_Come what may! _

_I will love you until my dying day! _

Jesse hopped on stage next to Rachel and took her in his arms as they continued singing. The members of Vocal Adrenaline where absolutely stunned, they really had no idea what to do, so they just stood there like idiots.

_Come what may! _

_Come what may! _

_I will love you…until my dying day! _

Suddenly, the curtain closed. Shelby had finally made the decision to stop this madness, but before she could run over to Rachel and Jesse, she felt someone pulling her back.

"Shelby, wait!" Will Schuester said.

"What?"

"Please, I'm begging you, don't."

"Excuse me? That's my daughter an-"

"And she's old enough make her own decisions! I know it's none of my business, but if she wants to be with Jesse, I think you should let her."

"It's not that I'm worried about anymore, she's obviously made her choice but she didn't have to do it by ruining our number!"

"Shelby… She ruined YOUR number. I think her number turned out to be great," Will said softly, "look at how happy she is…" He continued, looking over at Jesse and Rachel, who were completely oblivious to everyone around them.

Shelby sighed.

"When has she ever looked that happy performing? Isn't that what's most important?"

"I just… I just wanted what's best for her."

"So does every parent, believe me, but you can't control every aspect of her life. Give her a chance to be happy and in love."

Shelby didn't reply, instead she looked at Rachel and it seemed she was trying to accept the situation.

* * *

"I thought you wouldn't be capable of such a daring act…guess I was wrong." Jesse smiled as he held Rachel in his arms, Vocal Adrenaline scattering off the stage, mumbling something to themselves.

"Jesse, I'm so, so sorry for what I put you through, it was never my intention." Rachel pleaded.

"Don't worry about it. All that matters is that we're together now, let's leave the past in the past and just start over."

"Well then…We have a lot of catching up to do." Rachel smiled and kissed Jesse.

"I love you, Jesse St. James."

"Really? I didn't quite get that when you interrupted your performance to say that." Jesse laughed and could see Rachel blushing.

"But that's why I love you." He continued before kissing her again.

In the end both Jesse and Rachel had won. No, not Regionals, both their teams got disqualified because of the obvious – a member of the opposing team is not permitted to perform with the competing team – thus handing the win over to Aural Intensity. But Rachel and Jesse didn't care, no award could ever replace the part of their hearts that belonged to each other; and they were about to spend the best summer of their lives. Together.

* * *

If you've read my other fic (it's deleted now, to make space for this fic, I really have no idea how this site works, lol.) then you know that I'm such a sucker for cheesy, happy endings! So sorry if you're not ;D Ah, and you guys have no idea how hard this was! I kept changing the whole thing like every other day, but I had decided to do the Moulin Rouge ending when I was writing their first date, so I just stuck with it. Jesse and Rachel both are so larger than life that a feature film ending fits them like a glove + Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies and I just couldn't resist temptation, hah. So please don't slam me for being unoriginal, I honestly had like 3 different endings planned out :D

I'm super busy for the time being but I've had so much fun writing this that I might write a sequel later, because there's so much that could happen + I love writing AU New Directions, so let me know if you would enjoy something like that. A big thank you to everyone who read, favorite, alerted and reviewed! :) It makes me so happy! And I'm glad I could make you happy like St. Berry makes me happy. Though I'm sure no one can make anyone as happy as St. Berry can.


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